MADRID (AP) – Blame on travel restrictions COVID-19 or Brexit, but whatever the cause, some British citizens trying to return to their homes in several European countries this weekend have been banned from boarding flights.
The airlines refused documents that, before Brexit, were valid proof of the British status as residents in Spain, Italy and Germany, although Spanish authorities claimed that the issue was resolved by mid-Sunday.
Their ordeal came amid heightened travel restrictions due to a variant of coronavirus that has been accused of a faster contagion in the UK and highlights the bureaucratic complexities resulting from the departure of Britain from the 27 nations of the European Union.
Both the Spanish and British authorities said on Sunday that the green certificate of EU citizenship with a foreign identification number issued by Spain is still valid for British citizens residing in Spain in accordance with the bilateral provisions following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom. from the block on December 31. .
But passengers say British Airways and Iberia have refused to let them board in the past two days. The airlines, which are part of the IAG group, did not immediately respond to Sunday’s requests for comments from the Associated Press.
About 300,000 British citizens are registered as permanent residents in Spain, although before Brexit, many others had lived full-time or part-time in the country without officially registering.
Patricia Moody, a 69-year-old pensioner who called home the southern Spanish city of Zurgena for nearly four years, was among a group of at least nine people who were unable to board a BA / Iberia flight to Madrid from London Heathrow Airport on Saturday.
Moody said she and her husband, who she says she needs to see her doctor in Spain, spent £ 1,900 ($ 2,600) to be tested for the virus, travel to the airport and book new tickets after they have been denied boarding. Their second attempt was also futile.
“Throughout all the months of the Brexit negotiations, we have always been sure that nothing will change for us,” she said. Referring to 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 UK, many European nations have banned all travel to the British Isles, except for their own citizens and British citizens with a right of residence.
Travel to Pisa, Italy and Berlin also reported similar obstacles to boarding planes operated by Ryanair and Lufthansa, despite the fact that they had documents accepted by the Italian and German governments respectively.
Matt Bristow, a spokesman for the British Association of Residents of Germany, said: “This seems to be a case where UK airport staff do not know what documents to accept or apply the rules more strictly than they would do. German border police ”.
Spain has launched a new system for registering permanent foreign residents called TIE, but is suffering from a backlog due to the high number of applications. Authorities told the PA that proof of the TIE application and the “green certificate” for EU citizens were still valid for travel for British residents under the new health restrictions in force until 19 January.
“This should not happen,” the UK embassy in Spain said in a Facebook post. “The Spanish authorities have confirmed today that the green residence document will be accepted for travel to return to Spain, as mentioned in our travel advice.”
But Sam Dakin, a 32-year-old English teacher based in Barcelona for the past four years, and his partner, who has been in the Spanish city for 8 years, said they needed more insurance before they could resume. new flights.
The couple had been blocked from flying on Saturday morning, despite the fact that they were wearing their certificate and then refused to board another flight on Saturday night that British Airways had initially said it could take.
“Just because the government adviser said we can 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’re going to get answers.”
In a statement, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said that there was “an isolated communication problem with some airlines that affected a very small number of passengers” and that air traffic between the UK and Spain is proceeding “normally” until in the middle of Sunday.
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AP writer Geir Moulson from Berlin contributed to this report.