Jet2 cancels more flights to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote as Spain remains on UK quarantine list

JET2 has cancelled more flights and holidays to the Canary Islands as Spain shows no sign of being removed from the UK's quarantine list.

The country, along with the islands, has been on the quarantine list since July 26 as coronavirus cases become the worst in Europe.

The tour operator announced on social media that all trips to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura have been cancelled until October 17.

While flights hoped to resume from September 27, the cancellation has been extended once again.

Anyone with a package holiday before this date will be offered a full refund.

Earlier this month, Jet2 cancelled all flights to mainland Spain and parts of Croatia for the rest of the summer, affecting Alicante, Malaga, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Split.

Flights to Zante and Crete were also cancelled after both Greek islands were removed from the UK's air bridge list.

It is hoped that holidays to the Canary Islands will resume by the autumn months, following the UK's decision to allow regional travel corridors.

Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told local media: "The important thing is that there is a window of opportunity that did not exist before because the UK previously considered Spain as a whole."

Quash Quarantine spokesperson Paul Charles added to Sun Online Travel: "You've got to hope that the situation does get better by October in terms of case numbers reducing now that the crowds have gone back home. I’m hopeful that October will see these islands opening again.

"But I think there will be a lot of late booking - people will wait until the end of September or early October before booking a half term holiday."

However the new dates are within the half-term holidays - meaning it is looking more unlikely than ever that a Spanish trip can resume.

Jet2 flights are expected to be cheaper than ever this winter, as Brits need to be encouraged to travel abroad, according to the airline boss.

Philip Meeson, executive chairman of Dart Group, said: "Winter 20/21 forward bookings have yet to match our revised on-sale seat capacity, with customer bookings displaying a shorter lead time than in previous years.

"Therefore, pricing for both our leisure travel products - end-to-end package holidays with Jet2holidays and flight-only seats with Jet2.com - will need to remain consistently enticing.