Jet2holidays is suspending all flights and holidays to Spain’s islands up to and including August 9.
The tour operator made the decision following the latest government advice, which last night saw the extension of Foreign Office advice against all non-essential travel to cover the whole of Spain.
The government had already removed Spain from the list of countries exempt from quarantine for travellers returning to the UK.
A Jet2 spokesperson said: “Following the latest government advice regarding travel to the Balearic and Canary Islands from the UK, we have taken the decision to suspend flights and holidays to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza up to and including August 9.”
Jet2 has already suspended flights and holidays to its destinations in mainland Spain – Costa de Almeria, Alicante, Malaga and Murcia – for travel up to and including August 16.
The operator said it would automatically cancel bookings made through travel agents and offer clients a full refund and provide information to holidaymakers in resort regarding their options for returning to the UK.
In a statement, the company said: “Where customers are affected by any programme changes, we have been repeatedly recognised by independent travel agents for how we have handled this, and we will be automatically cancelling affected trade bookings with a full refund.
“We will also be providing information for customers who are currently in these destinations to advise them of their options regarding flying back to the UK, so we urge customers not to contact us.
For customers due to travel to the affected destinations after August 9, the company said it would give an additional update once it received more information from the government.
It also reiterated its plea to travel agents to provide emergency contact details of customers. Agents who do not do so would have to take round-the-clock responsibility for their clients pre travel and in resort, it warned.
The company said: “In order to deliver the best service to our mutual customers during these unprecedented times, it is vital independent travel agents supply us with emergency contact details so that we can contact customers via SMS on a 24/7 basis. ….We can assure agents that the information we send is legally checked and does not include direct marketing.
“If agents have not supplied us with emergency contact details, it is their responsibility to operate a 24/7 response team both for pre travel and in resort.”
The company repeated its call to government for “clarity and consistency”.
“We understand that this is a fast-moving situation, however the information we are currently receiving is contradictory and comes with little or no notice. We want to provide customers, who work hard and save hard for their well-deserved holidays, with timely information and we need this from the government. We would like to sincerely thank our customers and independent travel agency partners for their understanding and patience.”