Spain Grounds Flights From Mainland To Balearic Islands

The Spanish government announced that all flights from Mainland Spain to airports in the Balearic Islands are grounded. Only basic connectivity with the islands will be allowed.

As from Thursday, March 19, all flights from Mainland Spain to airports in the Balearic Islands are grounded. Only basic connectivity with the islands will be allowed.

The four largest Balearic Islands are Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera.

As the delegated competent authority for his areas of responsibility under Royal Decree 463/2020 and in agreement with the Minister for Health, the Minister for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, José Luis Ábalos, has issued a Ministerial Order establishing the following transport-related measures for connections between Mainland Spain and the Autonomous Region of the Balearic Islands in order to protect people, assets and places.

As from this date, the Balearic Islands will be connected to Mainland Spain via the air links with Madrid and Barcelona.

Connections will also be maintained between the islands of Mallorca and Menorca and Ibiza.

As from Thursday, people travelling on passenger ships and any kind of recreational craft will not be allowed to disembark at ports in the Balearic Islands, including inter-island traffic. An exception will be made for road haulage truck drivers.

Only three services per day are allowed between the islands of Formentera and Ibiza, and this restriction will also apply to all kinds of recreational craft and vessels being used for recreational or sports purposes or being sailed under a nautical lease.

As from midnight on March 18, executive aviation, air taxi and other similar flights will not be allowed to land at any airport in the Balearic Islands.

The Ministerial Order puts a series of restrictions on transport, only authorising one flight per day by each airline that has scheduled flights between certain destinations in Mainland Spain and the islands, as well as inter-island air connections. Furthermore, passenger transportation by sea is also banned except in extraordinary situations and except between Ibiza and Formentera.

These restrictions will not apply to State aircraft, exclusively cargo flights, positional flights, humanitarian flights, medical flights or emergency flights, nor to State ships, ships exclusively carrying cargo or ships sailing for humanitarian, medical or emergency purposes.

In line with the procedure established in the Ministerial Order, various companies informed the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda on Wednesday of their interest in operating a basic connectivity service between Mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands.