MADRID (AP) – Blame COVID-19 travel restrictions or Brexit, but whatever the cause, some UK citizens who tried to return to their homes in several European countries this weekend have been banned from boarding flights.
Airlines rejected documents that were valid proof of the British’s status as residents of Spain, Italy and Germany before Brexit, although Spanish authorities claimed the issue was resolved by mid-Sunday.
Their ordeal came amid heightened travel restrictions due to a coronavirus variant blamed for faster infection in the UK and highlighting the bureaucratic complexity that has resulted from Britain’s departure from the 27 European Union.
Both the Spanish and UK authorities said on Sunday that the green colored certificate of EU citizenship with a foreign national identification number issued by Spain is still valid for UK citizens residing in Spain under the bilateral provisions that followed the UK’s withdrawal from the block on December 31. .
But travelers say British Airways and Iberia, which are part of the IAG group, have refused to let them board for the past two days.
Iberia said in a statement late on Sunday that a statement from the Spanish border police on January 1 had caused “some confusion” and that this was later cleared up. British Airways did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
About 300,000 UK citizens are registered as permanent residents in Spain, although many more were living in the country full-time or part-time before Brexit without officially registering.
Patricia Moody, a 69-year-old retiree who has called the southern Spanish town of Zurgena home for nearly four years, belonged to a group of at least nine people who were unable to board a BA / Iberia flight to Madrid from London Heathrow Airport. Saturday.
Moody said she and her husband, who she says should see 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 denied boarding . Their second attempt was also futile.
“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’s awful and we are suffering from their incompetence.”
Following the discovery of the coronavirus variant in the UK, many European countries have banned all travel from the British Isles, except for their own nationals and UK citizens with residency rights.
Travelers to Pisa, Italy and Berlin have also reported similar obstacles to boarding Ryanair and Lufthansa planes, despite carrying documents accepted by the Italian and German governments respectively.
Matt Bristow, a spokesman for the UK in Germany residents association of that country, said: “This appears to be a case of UK airport personnel who do not know what documents to accept or apply the rules more strictly than the German border police.”
Spain has rolled out 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 application for the TIE and the “green certificate” for EU citizens was still valid to travel for UK residents under the new health restrictions in effect until January 19.
“This shouldn’t be happening,” the British Embassy in Spain said in a Facebook post. “The Spanish authorities reaffirmed today that the green residence document will be accepted for travel to return to Spain, as stated in our travel advice.”
But Sam Dakin, a 32-year-old English teacher who has lived in Barcelona for the past four years, and his partner, who has lived in the Spanish city for 8 years, said they needed more guarantees before they could rebook flights.
The couple were blocked from flying on Saturday morning, despite carrying their certificate, and then were denied boarding on another Saturday night flight that British Airways had initially said they could take.
“Just because the government adviser said we could travel, we don’t know if that will happen when we show up at the counters,” Dakin said. “We just don’t know where we’ll get the answers.”
In a statement, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there was “an isolated communication problem with some airlines affecting a very small number of travelers” and air traffic between the UK and Spain was “normal” mid-Sunday.
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AP writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.