A man who jumped travel restrictions to take a flight from Madrid to Lanzarote received news that he had tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) whilst on the plane – with 140 other passengers on board.
The flight from Madrid arrived in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands on Friday afternoon, and was immediately met by local police, as well as health and security officials.
Reports claim that the 53-year-old man had been ordered to wait for the results of a PCR test before travelling – but he had gone ahead and taken the flight anyway.
An investigation is underway as to why he was flying and whether he had adhered to all the travel restrictions currently in place under the ‘state of alarm’ in Spain. If not, he could face a heavy fine.
The Europa Press news agency reported that the man had been with his family in Ciudad Real (in the Castilla La Mancha region), where his mother had been fighting cancer. After she died on 23 May, it was discovered that she had been infected with Coronavirus. Another family member had reportedly also tested positive – and the man travelling to Lanzarote had had contact with that person.
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Whilst he was on the flight just before take-off, he received news that his own test result had come back positive.
The man reportedly warned the crew and then sat at the back of the plane to keep as far away from others as possible.
On arrival in the Canary Islands, the man and 14 other passengers were immediately isolated. They are expected to undergo quarantine for up to two weeks.
It was also reported that the Canary Islands’ government offered the remaining 124 passengers free accommodation at a hotel to self-isolate, if required.
There have been a total of 2,333 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the Canary Islands since the pandemic started, and 151 deaths, according to the latest figures released by the Spanish Health Ministry on 29 May.
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