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Several British expats hoping to return home to Spain say they have been prevented from boarding their flight at Heathrow airport.
Two airlines have reportedly claimed that their proof of residence documents were no longer valid after the end of the Brexit transition period with the EU on December 31.
It comes in the middle of tighter travel measures due to a new COVID-19 variant that has been blamed for a more rapid spread of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom.
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British Airways is one of two airlines that have reportedly refused to allow multiple Britons to travel on their flights to Spain.
Spain has banned all travel from Great Britain except for its UK nationals and citizens with the right of residence.
Spanish and British authorities have said that a green EU citizenship certificate with a foreign nationality identification number issued by Spain is still valid for British citizens residing in Spain.
But British Airways and Iberia staff have reportedly refused to allow some people to travel to the country for the past two days.
Patricia Moody, 69, was among seven British residents in Spain who were unable to board a BA / Iberia flight to Madrid from Heathrow on Saturday.
Ms. Moody, who for nearly four years has called the Spanish town of Zurgena in Almería home, said: “Absolutely gutted. Gutted. Because my husband is not well. Yes, he screwed it up.
“We are going home. Spain is our home. We classify it as our home. And my husband needs urgent medical attention, and we are running out of tablets, so we have to be home.”
Ms Moody later said that she and her husband spent £ 1,900 to get tested for the virus, travel to the airport and book new tickets after staff refused to allow them to board their first flight.
“We have been in contact with the airline, we have done the COVID test, we have stayed at the Sofitel (hotel) for rest time, 24 hours and nothing,” added Kenneth Moody.
A later attempt to board, after the couple were interviewed, also proved futile.
Kristian Goode, who works for an engineering company and lives in Madrid with his wife Alicia, was also puzzled.
“I was on the phone with the British consulate in Madrid and they diverted you to a number in London,” Goode said.
“They have registered it with the Spanish authorities, but they cannot tell us if they will receive a response,” he continued.
Spain has been implementing a new system called TIE to register permanent foreign residents. But there has been a delay due to a large number of requests.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry said that both the TIE application tests and the “green certificate” for EU citizens remain valid for British residents to travel under the new sanitary restrictions in effect until 19 January.
The British embassy in Spain said the confusion “should not be happening.”
“The Spanish authorities have reconfirmed today that the green residence document will be accepted to travel back to Spain, as indicated in our travel notice,” he said.
British Airways and Iberia, which are part of the IAG group, did not immediately respond to written questions from the media.
