Government urges Germans to limit travel as bookings surge

The German government on Monday urged citizens to limit travel amid the coronavirus pandemic as airlines reported a surge in bookings to traditional beach holiday destinations for Easter. Budget airline Eurowings announced at the weekend that it is laying on hundreds of extra flights to Mallorca over the Easter period, and travel giant TUI said it is opening hotels on the island early after Germany’s disease control agency removed the Spanish island from its list of ‘risk areas.’ While the requirement for people to quarantine on return from Mallorca and other Spanish holiday hotspots has now been lifted, the German government made clear it frowns on any such trips. “The appeal is to avoid any not absolutely necessary travel,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Adebahr, said that “the absence of a travel warning is no invitation to travel."<br/>