Brits returning from Gibraltar holiday must isolate following easyJet detour

26 August 2020, 16:11

A load of frustrated passengers were left in an impossible situation following a rescheduled flight.

A number of British holidaymakers are fuming after their trip to Gibraltar ended up taking a detour to Spain on the way home, meaning they'll now have to isolate for 14 days upon their return.

The angry easyJet passengers would've initially avoided the two-week isolation as the overseas British territory is on the UK safe-list of holiday destinations.

However, following a rescheduling of flights that left them with the choice of being stranded in Gibraltar overnight, or staying in an airline-provided hotel across the border in Spain, they will now not be exempt from the isolation.

The Gatwick flight from Gibraltar was rescheduled on Monday due to poor weather, so they needed overnight accommodation, but unfortunately there weren't any hotels with room for the passengers.

This left 80 helpless passengers having to accept easyJet's offer of a hotel in Cadiz, which is part of COVID-19 hotspot, Spain.

When the flight arrived home yesterday, all of the passengers then had to head into quarantine for a fortnight, something they hadn't planned for and might cause complications in regard to their work and daily life.

A passenger on the flight named Charlie Markham, said: "EasyJet bussed everyone over to Spain for the night and now they’re going to be mixing with people on the flight back who were safe in Gibraltar.”

There were just 31 active cases of coronavirus in Gibraltar at the end of last week.

Spain, which recorded 8,000 new infections on Friday alone, was removed from the UK’s safe travel corridor list last month.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “We tried to provide as many hotel rooms in Gibraltar as possible.“However, due to a shortage it was not possible to provide these for all customers. We offered accommodation in Spain for those who wanted it.”