The UK government has advised against travel to mainland Spain, in a dramatic reversal of policy.
Britain is "very clear now that we advise against travel to mainland Spain," Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb said on Sunday while speaking about the sudden removal of a travel corridor between the two countries.
On Saturday Britain unexpectedly announced people returning from all parts Spain would be required to self-isolate for two weeks, reversing their previous stance with immediate effect.
The quarantine advice applies to all parts of the country, while the travel warning applies only to mainland Spain.
The decision came after Spain announced 922 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, and 971 on Thursday -- the highest increase since May 8.
Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Raab said the government "took the decision as swiftly as we could, and we can't apologize for doing so."
His comments came as the Spanish government said Spain is a "safe country."
The "outbreaks are localized, isolated and controlled," the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Travel operator TUI said it was "incredibly disappointed" with the lack of notice from the British government about its decision. TUI cancelled all flights from the UK to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands on Sunday, according to a statement sent to CNN.
"We also look to understand why quarantine has been issued for a whole country, including the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, when the travel advice isn't aligned (only applying to mainland Spain.) It demonstrates why clear regional travel corridors need to be considered," TUI's Managing Director Andrew Flintham said in the statement.
The Government of the Balearic Islands -- home to popular destinations like Mallorca and Ibiza -- expressed "great concern" over the new British quarantine measures, adding it will cause "serious problems" to their tourism industry.
"The Balearic Islands' government has been working over the last few hours to establish the basis for a safe air corridor with the UK," a government spokesperson tweeted from an official account, while pointing out the infection rate per 100,000 people is higher in the UK than on the islands.
One of the British government's ministers -- Transport Secretary Grant Shapps -- is currently in Spain, a spokesman told CNN on Sunday. His presence in the country has prompted criticism from British opposition figures.
"I think that tells you everything about the government's approach to this," Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said.
Ashworth described the communication around the U-turn as "shambolic."
The UK has a higher number of both total confirmed cases and deaths than Spain, with the third-highest death toll globally.
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