The second corona wave has now hit Europe in many places, and at the end of the season, further travel warnings from the Federal Foreign Office will follow for most European territories. The crews who sail there are therefore obliged to undergo a mandatory PCR test and quarantine on their return. In addition, when traveling by air to these regions, there is an increased risk that flights will be canceled or relocated at short notice due to a lack of capacity utilization by package tourists.
Yesterday were in France the entire island of Corsica, the region from LRochelle to the Spanish border and the coast around Calais declared risk areas with more than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In France, the numbers have been increasing significantly for about three weeks, most recently they were just under 10,000 new infections per day. The Côte d’Azur and the greater Paris area have been on the risk list for a long time.
In the Netherlands the regions of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland have been added to the list of risk areas. The Noord-Holland region covers practically the entire coast west of the IJsselmeer and Markermeer, including Amsterdam and the island of Texel. The Zuid-Holland region connects to the south along the coast to Grevelingen.
In Croatia After the classification of the Sibenik-Knin and Split-Dalmatia areas a few weeks ago, the Zadar and Dubrovnik-Neretv counties as well as some inland areas were declared risk areas. This affects the coast and the offshore islands from about the height of Premuda / Pag down to the border to Montenegro. In Istria, on the other hand, the number of infections has so far been low.
Spain has been a risk area for a long time, but a week ago the Canary Islands were added to the list, which are otherwise a popular winter charter alternative to the Caribbean for many charter crews.
For charter fleet operators and customers, especially in the Mediterranean, the second wave is a heavy blow. The new bookings have practically come to a standstill, and for the second time this year there has been a wave of cancellations and rebooking requests, which mean a lot of work for fleet operators and agencies with simultaneously falling income. Important to know for customers: travel warnings are almost never a reason to terminate charter contracts, as these are usually not subject to travel law. Some fleet operators are already switching to a tougher course vis-à-vis customers due to the slump in income and are not allowing any further free rebookings. So if you cannot or do not want to start the charter, you should contact your fleet operator or the agency as soon as possible.