ARCHIVED - 12,000 travellers pass through Alicante Airport on first day of non-essential travel reopening

The Costa Blanca airport saw thousands of holidaymakers arrive destined for the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon in the Valencia region. 

More than 100 flights carrying 6,000 tourists landed at Alicante-Elche airport on the Costa Blanca on Monday, June 7 - 24 hours after Spain officially welcomed vaccinated people from all over the world.

Travellers were allowed to enter the country without being subject to additional requirements, provided they presented a Covid-19 vaccine passport or proof of vaccination.

Spain is now allowing all vaccinated travellers from non-EU and Schengen Zone countries to enter its regions for "non-essential purposes"  to reboot the tourism sector.

Although travellers from "high-risk" countries like Brazil, India and South Africa, will have to quarantine for 10-days on their arrival.

As the borders were reopened, Aena scheduled 123 flights to and from Alicante-Elche Airport on Monday, with 12,000 passing through the terminals - half of those tourists.

Twenty-four of the flights scheduled were to and from the UK.

Overall, the main destinations were: London, Eindhoven, Liverpool, Brussels, Moscow, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Milan, Dublin, Zurich, Rotterdam, Oslo, Teeside, Manchester, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Bristol.

Britons arriving on the Costa Blanca are not required to show a negative result or follow quarantine rules upon their arrival in Spain.

But the country remains on the UK's amber travel list, meaning travellers have to self-isolated for 10 days and undergo tests upon their return or arrival in the UK from Spain.

While international travel gradually picks up across Europe, the EU has introduced digital Covid “green” certificates, which are being issued by Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities.

And in the Valencia region, one of the first to begin issuing the EU Covid digital certificate,12,769 people downloaded the 'green pass' in the first 24 hours of the document being made available on Monday, June 7.

So far, nine countries have launched the "safe travel" system a month ahead of the July 8 deadline. 

IMAGE: Archive