It’s now compulsory for all travellers arriving in Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands to provide a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours to prove they don’t have coronavirus.
Passengers on 5 flights from Germany and 2 from Switzerland will be the first to arrive in Palma under the new regulations.
There's also 5 flights arriving from Madrid, 5 from Barcelona, 2 from Valencia, 1 from Seville and 1 from Santiago but those travellers will not have to present a negative test, despite the fact that their city of origin has the same level of incidence as Germany.
Switzerland has an incidence rate of 907.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.
Germany and Madrid both have an incidence rate of 285 cases, which is well below the 507.21 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Andalusia, 393.93 in Catalonia, 299.53 in Valencia and 286.68 in Galicia and yet hundreds of passengers will be arriving in Mallorca on flights originating in those Communities.
Eight of Spain’s Autonomous Communities have a higher level of incidence than Germany and the UK, which are the two main countries sending tourists to the Balearic Islands, but Domestic travellers are still not required to take a test.
The PCR tests will be done by Health Professionals with the help of the National Police and all travellers must provide original documentation in English or Spanish proving they don’t have coronavirus when they arrive at the airport.
Any passenger who’s unable to provide negative test results or submits paperwork that’s not valid will be given a Covid-19 antigen test. Travellers will be charged 300 euros if the test is negative or 3,000 euros if it’s positive.
The aim is to make travellers more aware of the importance of having a Covid-19 test done before they arrive to prevent the disease from spreading.
Cases
The Health Ministry says making a negative PCR test mandatory to gain entry to the Balearic Islands will prevent coronavirus infections being imported from abroad, but the figures indicate that there's been very few cases linked to travellers from abroad since the airports were reopened.
The Ministry of Health says 4,167 imported coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Spain since May, including 127 in the Balearic Islands, 747 in the Canary Islands, 444 in Madrid and 383 in Catalonia.
All travellers arriving in the Balearic Islands from a foreign country will still have to complete a health form and go through temperature-controlled areas.