MADRID (AP) – Blame COVID-19’s travel restrictions or Brexit, but whatever the cause: some British citizens trying to return to their homes in several European countries over the weekend have been banned from flying on board.
Airline refused documents that were valid proof before the Brexit of the British’s status as residents of Spain, Italy and Germany, although Spanish authorities claim the issue was resolved by mid-Sunday.
Their ordeal comes amid heightened travel restrictions due to a coronavirus variant blamed for faster infection in the UK and the bureaucratic complexity resulting from Britain’s exit from the European Union with 27 countries.
Both Spanish and British authorities said on Sunday that the green certificate of EU citizenship with a foreign national identification number issued by Spain was still valid for British citizens residing in Spain under the bilateral provisions that followed the withdrawal of the United Kingdom on 31 December. .
But the travelers say British Airways and Iberia are refusing to allow them for the past two days. The airlines, which are part of the IAG group, did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press.
About 300,000 British citizens are registered as permanent residents in Spain, although many more lived full-time or part-time in the country before Brexit without officially registering.
Patricia Moody, a 69-year-old pensioner who has been calling home the almost Zurgena city of Zurgena for almost four years, was among a group of at least nine people who were unable to board a BA / Iberia flight from Madrid. to enter the Heathrow airport in London. Saturday.
Moody said she and her husband, who she said should visit his doctor in Spain, spent £ 1,900 ($ 2,600) to get tested for the virus, travel to the airport and book new tickets after being refused to enter. Their second attempt was also useless.
“During all the months of Brexit negotiations, we were always assured that nothing would change for us,” she said. Referring to the airlines and authorities in both countries, she added: “It is horrible and we are suffering because of their incompetence.”
Following the discovery of the coronavirus variant in the United Kingdom, many European countries banned all travel from the British Isles except their own citizens and British citizens with a right of residence.
Travelers to Pisa, Italy and Berlin have also reported similar obstacles in boarding flights operated by Ryanair and Lufthansa, despite carrying documents accepted by the Italian and German governments respectively.
Matt Bristow, a spokesman for the British Residents ‘Association in the country, said:’ This seems to be a case of British airport staff not knowing what documents to accept or enforcing the rules more strictly than what the German border police would not do. ‘
Spain has introduced a new system to register permanent foreign residents called TIE, but it is lagging behind due to the large number of requests. Authorities told AP that the proof of the application for the TIE and the ‘green certificate’ for EU citizens is still valid for British residents to travel under the new health restrictions that apply until 19 January.
“This should not happen,” the British embassy in Spain said in a Facebook post. “The Spanish authorities reaffirmed today that the green accommodation document will be accepted for travel to return to Spain, as stated in our travel advice.”
But Sam Dakin, a 32-year-old English-speaking teacher who has been based in Barcelona for the past four years, and his partner, who has been in the Spanish city for eight years, said they needed more insurance before they could book flights.
The couple were barred from flying on Saturday morning despite having their certificate, and they were refused another flight on Saturday night, which British Airways initially said they could take.
“Just because the government adviser said we could travel, we do not know if that will happen when we arrive at the counters,” Dakin said. “We just do not know where we are going to get answers.”
In a statement, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said that there was “an isolated communication problem with some airlines affecting a very small number of travelers” and that air traffic between the UK and Spain was “normal” by mid-Sunday. .
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AP author Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.