British low-cost leisure airline Jet2.com or Jet2 cancelled all of its flights to Spain on 14 March after the country declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.
"We have taken the decision to cancel all flights to mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands with immediate effect. We are contacting our customers who are currently in these destinations, and who are due to travel, to advise them of their options, so we urge customers not to call us", the airline said in a statement.
— Jet2tweets (@jet2tweets) March 14, 2020
Earlier in the day, the website FlightRadar reported that seven Jet2 flights to Spain had been diverted back to the UK.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 14, 2020
According to reports, Spain's government will announce tight restrictions on movement for the 46-million nation while declaring a two-week state of emergency.
Tourism has been seriously affected by the spread of the coronavirus. British Airways has already warned of job losses and Norwegian Air announced it had "weeks not months" to avert collapse.
The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Spain jumped by more than 1,500 in 24 hours, exceeding 5,700, the country’s health ministry announced on 14 March, adding that 136 people have died from the disease. Public gathering places, shopping malls, and parks were later closed across the capital region.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic. The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 145,000, with over 5,400 fatalities.
