British tourists arriving in Mallorca. | M. À. Cañellas

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The lifting of the majority of Covid restrictions in England on July 19, prompted thousands to hop on a plane to Mallorca on Monday.

Jet2, Ryanair and EasyJet said activity exceeded expections as 57 flights landed in Palma from the UK, bringing more than 10,000 fully-vaccinated tourists to the Island.

34 flights arrived in Ibiza with more than 6,000 passengers onboard and that trend looks set to continue throughout the week, provided London doesn’t change the travel restrictions.

At the moment, the Balearics are on the UK’s ‘Amber’ list, but rumours are rife that Spain and the Islands could be added to the ‘Amber Plus’ list, forcing British nationals to quarantine for 10 days when they get home.

“London could ban all flights to Spain on July 25 Spain like they did last year, because of the increase in coronavirus infections, which would be the last straw,” said a Balearic Tourism Sector spokesperson.

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Demand for holidays in the Balearics is soaring and airlines say they will continue to schedule flights until the British Government makes a firm decision.

The season continues to be highly volatile and it’s changing all the time, but the removal of restrictions in the United Kingdom is having a positive impact on the volume of reservations,” said Meliá Chairman and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer. “With all caution, the increase in vaccinations in Spain and the UK invite a certain optimism."

2.3 million international travellers arrived in Spain from foreign airports in June and 664,013 of them travelled to the Balearic Islands, which is more than any other Community in Spain, according to Turespaña.

Early implementation of the EU digital Covid Certificate from the beginning of June in Spain and authorisation of non-essential travel from the United Kingdom, has had a positive impact on international passenger arrivals to the Islands and other Spanish destinations.

Greece could also be added to the UK’s ‘Amber Plus list.