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Greece has become the first country to ditch Covid passports but Spain is unlikely to follow suit
On May 1, Greece became the first EU country to stop requiring Covid passports for travellers arriving by ferry or plane after the European Commission issued a request that Member States lift all restrictions linked to the pandemic as soon as possible.
The recommendation came as somewhat of a surprise, considering that just three months ago the European Union was pushing citizens to avail themselves of a coronavirus booster jab by setting a Covid passport expiration date of just nine months after the second dose.
“Our position has been clear from the beginning: any restriction on the free movement of people, including the obligation to present the EU Digital Covid Certificate, should be lifted as soon as the epidemiological situation allows it,” an EC spokesperson said.
“The Commission strongly supports the decisions of Member States to lift restrictions when possible,” the source reiterated, adding that the move by Greece “is a welcome decision”.
The Spanish government has so far remained tight-lipped on whether there are any plans for Spain to scrap Covid certificates before the start of the busy summer season, but all evidence to date points to a more cautious approach. Just last week, the Ministry of Health decreed that face masks will still be required on flights to Spain, even though Brussels lifted the compulsory measure, and at the weekend the authorities extended the ban on third country unvaccinated tourists for another month.
Last August, the first summer of the pandemic when travel began to return to some kind of normality, Spain had issued more than 18.2 million Covid passports. Now, at the start of a high-season with most travel restrictions removed, the government has the option of scrapping one of the last measures.
However, at the moment there are certainly no indications that this will be the case.
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