A WOMAN who has been forced to quarantine for two weeks following a family trip to Spain said she is disappointed by how quickly the rules were brought in.

Janette Thompson flew to Benalmádena with her family on July 25 just before the lockdown restrictions were placed on the country.

It wasn't until they were in the resort that they heard the news from friends that they would be forced to quarantine for two weeks on their return.

Mrs Thompson, from Carlisle, explained: "We booked the holiday back in January to meet some friends from Australia and then lockdown hit so we just thought it would be cancelled. But it wasn't so we went ahead with our plans. We landed in Spain at about 11am/12pm and headed straight to the resort.

"Later in the evening we started getting messages from friends about the plans to lockdown and quarantine."

Mrs Thompson and her family had had no contact from their holiday company, Jet2, regarding this.

From July 27, the FCO advised against all non-essential travel to Spain, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, based on an assessment of Covid-19 risks in the country.

All those returning from the country are also required to self-isolate for 14 days - something that has affected Mrs Thompson's ability to work.

She said: "We wouldn't have gone if we had known because we all work.

"I've just had to call my boss and explain and luckily she is fine about it.

"I have to be off for two weeks and I've already been off for seven weeks at the start.

"I'm very disappointed, it's sad because we were really looking forward to having a holiday and we had this glimmer of hope things were returning to normal. I understand why they've done it but it is still disappointing."

The 55-year-old medical secretary noticed a vast difference in the cleaning methods behind here and Spain stating "we could learn something from them."

"There were such strict measures in place over there," she said.

"When we went into the airport there was temperature checks and cleaning, same in the restaurants and by the pool. But here in Glasgow Airport there was nothing."

Spain holidays could be back on the cards after tourism leaders in Majorca and Ibiza confirmed that they are working with the UK Government to establish a safe "air bridge" route for Britons from the UK which means they could avoid two weeks in quarantine.