Failure to launch: Spain's grand reopening falls flat

Tourism hotspot Spain's grand reopening to international travel got off to a slow start on Monday, with newly relaxed entry requirements failing to attract the desired wave of foreign visitors amid confusion over the new rules. Hoping to revive its struggling tourist sector Spain began letting in fully-vaccinated people from all over the world on Monday, but only published detailed rules on Saturday, leaving travel operators and tourists in the dark until the last minute. read more International flights to and from Spain were up around 40% compared with a week ago but a spokesperson for airport operator AENA said the increase was in line with a general rise over the past few months. "It is not tremendously significant, it is gradual...they're rising little by little," she said. Madrid's Barajas airport was quiet on Monday morning, especially compared with the hectic flow of tourists before the COVID-19 crisis. Still, Javier Gandara, president of Spain's ALA airlines association welcomed the new regulations, particularly the decision to let travellers in with a negative antigen test, rather than the more expensive PCR test.<br/>