According to the Balearic government, it was in contact with the Spanish government prior to the UK announcement of a quarantine for travellers entering the UK from Spain.
The Balearic government wanted to know the scope of the UK's measure. Alarmed by the "serious damage" that a quarantine could cause to what is the second largest foreign tourist market, the government was seeking to establish a "safe air corridor" with the UK.
The regional ministry for the economic model, tourism and employment argues that the epidemiological situation in the Balearics justifies there being an air corridor. Over the past fourteen days, there has been a cumulative incidence of eight confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Balearics per 100,000 inhabitants over the past fortnight. This is contrasted with 37.9 for Spain as a whole and 14.1 for the UK.
The ministry notes that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel guidance has excluded the Balearics and the Canaries from the recommendation against all non-essential travel (this is for mainland Spain). Nevertheless, the quarantine requirement also applies to people travelling from the Balearics and the Canaries.
The FCO, for its part, has highlighted the rise in the number of cases in certain regions of Spain - Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre in particular.