Nicola Sturgeon urged to explain 'shambolic' about-turn on quarantine for Spain travellers

Nicola Sturgeon is under pressure to justify her "shambolic" decision to reimpose quarantine restrictions on travellers from Spain only three days after lifting them.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said holidaymakers "are paying the price" for the about-turn and warned they could be left in a "very difficult position with their employers" upon their return.

In a letter to the First Minister, he said the decision raised a "big question" about her "poor quality" decision to add Spain to her "air bridges" list last Thursday despite a surge in cases there.

Mr Rennie urged her to disclose the "detailed science" behind the move, warning her that otherwise it would appear "haphazard."

His criticism was echoed by Scotland's airports, with the chief of Aberdeen and Glasgow airports saying: "There is simply no way we can operate in such an unpredictable environment."

With Saturday evening's announcement being made only a few hours before it came into effect, Edinburgh Airport warned that "little or no notice to passengers, airports and passengers causes distress and operational chaos".

Ms Sturgeon warned last week that Scots "cannot book a holiday right now with certainty" that they will not need to quarantine when they return, and their plans could be scuppered "at very short notice".

Warning that restrictions could be reimposed at any time, she advised anyone considering travelling overseas to "think very carefully" and consider holidaying in Scotland instead.

But the day after she urged caution, Spain was added to the list of countries to which Scots could enjoy quarantine-free trips.

Ms Sturgeon added Spain to her "air bridge" countries more than two weeks after the UK Government did so for England, despite Covid-19 cases tripling.

Along with the governments in the rest of the UK, she removed Spain and its islands from the list of destinations safe to visit with effect from midnight on Sunday.

The short notice meant some passengers were in the air returning from their holidays, not knowing that they would have to quarantine at home for 14 days after landing.

Mr Rennie said: "This is now a shambolic situation, and there is a big question as to how Scottish ministers have made such poor-quality decisions. If it was not safe to lift the quarantine measures three weeks ago, how had it been judged safe to do so earlier this week?

"Holidaymakers who left for Spain in the last few days on the expectation they would return without quarantine will be in a very difficult position with their employers."

Derek Provan, the chief executive of AGS Airports Ltd, which owns Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, said: "Whilst we understand that public safety must always come first, the resumption of blanket quarantine measures for those travelling to Spain is a hammer blow and could not come at a worse time.

"There is simply no way we can operate in such an unpredictable environment, where decisions regarding one of the UK's most important tourism destinations change by the week – we must have consistency."

Edinburgh Airport said it understood that quarantine restrictions may have to be imposed at short notice to protect public health.

"However, the situation that occurred yesterday can not be the best way to manage this – little or no notice to passengers, airports and passengers causes distress and operational chaos," a spokesman said.

"Governments have committed to a rhythm of assessment of countries. If they are to operate outwith this, then they must understand the effect the resulting uncertainty will cause. This approach means that the government must rapidly explore alternatives, such as testing, if we want to see any kind of aviation function."

Humza Yousaf, the SNP's Justice Minister, tweeted that he could not release the scientific data behind the about-turn as it was the UK Government's and he had not received authorisation.

He said: "The decision to exempt Spain earlier this week was taken when the data showed there was an improvement in the spread of the virus. But clearly the latest data has given us cause for concern to overturn that decision.

"We appreciate that this will be disappointing. However, we have always been clear we are closely monitoring the pandemic situation in all countries and that we may require to remove a country from the list of places exempt from quarantine requirements should the virus show a resurgence."