This Thursday morning, the Belgians who are currently in Tenerife as well as those who are due to go there soon were woken up by bad news: the local authorities and the head of government of the Canaries, Ángel Víctor Torres, declared the day before the closure of its borders in the night from Friday to Saturday.
It was clarified that no one would be allowed to enter or leave the territory for 15 days, except in exceptional circumstances. It was also recalled that the travel is not recommended and that the curfew on the island would be advanced to 22 hours.
These measures were taken to stop the increase in the number of coronavirus infections. Moreover, the island of Tenerife has been classified as a red zone by Belgium for several weeks. The number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants recently rose to 127.
Tourism
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, the regional government of the Canary Islands reassured the travel sector: tourists are still welcome provided they can present a negative PCR test dating back less than 72 hours.
TUI has indicated that it will operate the flights scheduled for the next few days and during the Christmas holidays.
Therefore, Belgian tour operators continue to operate to and from Tenerife until further notice. This is particularly the case of TUI who indicated in a press release that she will operate Nevertheless flights planned for the next few days and during the Christmas holidays. “As the travel advisory has been negative for Tenerife for a few weeks, TUI does not currently offer package holidays on the island, but plane tickets can still be booked“the statement said.
Brussels Airlines has canceled one of its two routes from Saturday.because the company expects cancellations. “We are continuing to analyze market demand,” spokesperson Kim Daenen said. Thursday morning, 104 of the 112 passengers who had booked a flight did indeed leave for the Spanish island.
Closing
But what if Tenerife hadn’t left its door open to tourists? In this case, those who have booked a package travel have three options: as the tour operator cannot provide the services provided for in the travel contract, the latter is required to offer a choice of a new destination, a departure at a later date or a refund.
Finally, note that cancellation insurance would have been of no help. “The closure of borders is not a hazard covered by our cancellation contract“, according to Xavier Van Caneghem, spokesperson for Europ Assistance.