Conditions for travel between the Canary Islands during the Easter period
The Ministry of Health in the Canary Islands has announced that there will be limited inter-island mobility during the Easter period and the new rules will be in effect from 00:00 hours on March 26 until midnight on April 9.
The limitation does not affect travel between the islands of La Graciosa and Lanzarote for residents of the former. These rules also don't apply for trips with origin or destination abroad or in the rest of Spain, which will be governed by its specific regulations, nor to stopovers made in the Canary Islands with origin and destination abroad or in the rest of the national territory, when they are for a limited time that does not allow the exit of the port or airport enclosure.
Conditions for travel between the islands between March 26th and April 9th
The new decreed measures, which will be in place from 00:00 hours on March 26 until midnight on April 9, state that all passengers traveling between islands must present a responsible declaration to the operator before boarding.
The declaration can be downloaded from the Canarian Health Service website, to prove the reason for the trip.
In cases of travel due to force majeure, it will not be necessary to carry out a diagnostic test; while on leisure trips, the passenger must present a negative active diagnostic test (PDIA) carried out 72 hours prior to the trip, a requirement that will not be mandatory for children under six years of age.
In this sense, the Canary Islands Health Service makes available to passengers, through its website, the list of authorized centers and laboratories in the archipelago.
Once the test has been carried out, and prior to the trip, the passenger must send the results electronically to the Canary Islands Health Service attaching their personal data, together with the date of completion, identification and contact information of the authorized health center that performs the test, technique used and negative result. In the case of antigen testing, the homologated specificity and sensitivity should be reflected. The email address where the info should be sent is this pdiasviajes[@]gobiernodecanarias.org
The diagnostic test will not be necessary on the return journey, since the passenger may return to his habitual residence exclusively presenting the Responsible Declaration.
Cases in which inter-island travel is allowed
Inter-island movements are restricted to the following duly accredited cases:
- Assistance to health centers, services and establishments.
- Compliance with work, professional, business, institutional or legal obligations.
- Attendance at university, teaching and educational centers, including early childhood education schools, as well as language academies and educational reinforcement of subjects included in formal education curricula, conservatories and music schools, or for the preparation of processes selective in academies or training centers.
- Return to the place of habitual or family residence.
- Assistance and care for the elderly, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or especially vulnerable people.
- Travel to financial and insurance entities or refueling stations in neighboring territories.
- Required or urgent actions before public, judicial or notarial bodies.
- Renewals of permits and official documentation, as well as other administrative procedures that cannot be postponed.
- Taking official exams or tests that cannot be postponed.
- Assistance and care of domestic animals or farms.
- National or international professional or federated training or competitions.
- Due to force majeure or situation of need.
- Any other activity of a similar nature, duly accredited.
In addition to the aforementioned cases, it is possible to travel between islands when a negative diagnostic test for active infection (PDIA) is presented, carried out in the 72 hours prior to arrival at the destination, which will not be considered a health benefit of the public health system.
Proof of the reason for travel
To prove the reason for the trip, a responsible declaration will be presented with the document model that will be made available to passengers on the SCS website and that must also be provided by the airlines and maritime companies.
The responsible declaration will be collected and verified by the companies before boarding, and passengers who do not provide the document will not be allowed to travel. Likewise, airlines and maritime lines must keep this documentation at the disposal of the health authorities and their agents for three months, without prejudice to the control measures that may be carried out, with the corresponding responsibilities in the event of non-existence or falsehood.
A diagnostic test will be needed before travel (PDIA)
Those passengers who travel for any reason not included in the exceptions justified above will also have to present a Diagnostic Test for Active Infection for SARS-CoV-2 with a negative result, carried out within 72 hours prior to arrival at the place of destination. This will not be required for children under 6 years of age.
The diagnostic tests admitted, at the passenger's choice, will be PCR (RT-PCR of COVID-19); Rapid detection test for SARS-CoV-2 antigens with a specificity of more than 97% and a sensitivity of more than 80%, according to the corresponding approval of a country of the European Union or the European Economic Area; or Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA).
The documentation for the test must be original, written in Spanish and may be submitted in paper or electronic format. The document will contain, at least, the following information: name and surname of the traveler, DNI number, NIE, passport or national document or identity card, date of completion, identification and contact information of the authorized health center that performs the test, technique used and negative result. In the case of antigen tests, it must also reflect the homologated specificity and sensitivity.
The PDIA will not be considered as a health care service of the public health system, so it will not be carried out by the SCS in its own or subsidized centers, although the latter may carry it out privately. In no case will it be paid or reimbursed by the SCS. As an exception, on the island of El Hierro, it will be carried out by the SCS, as there are no accredited private laboratories, but the corresponding public prices will be paid by those interested.
Once the PDIA has been carried out and prior to the trip, passengers will send the analytical results electronically to the address pdiasviajes@gobiernodecanarias.org.
The document will be collected and verified by the airlines and maritime companies before boarding.
The voucher will remain in the possession of its holder at the disposal of the health authorities and their agents, who may require its presentation during the trip, demanding the corresponding responsibilities in the event of non-existence or falsification of the evidence. At the entry points on each island, passengers may be requested, at any time, to accredit the result of the PDIA.
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