MADRID, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The coronavirus pandemic had caused a huge reduction in the number of passengers arriving at Spanish airports from anther country during April, said Spain's tourism institute Turespana on Thursday.
Turespana, the government body tasked with marketing Spain as a travel destination, reported that in April, just 21,327 passengers flew into Spain from another country.
This was a 99.7 percent fall in the number of people who took international flights into Spain from April 2019, according to Turespana.
Low-cost airlines, many of which have canceled flights for the coronavirus crisis, were the hardest hit, with a 99.97 percent fall in passengers as just 1,472 people used this method of flying, compared with 19,855 who flew using traditional or national carriers.
According to Turespana, 13.2 million people flew into Spain in the first four months of the year, despite the introduction of a State of Alarm, which restricted freedom of movement into and around the country on March 15 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Under current regulations, people traveling to Spain can only arrive at five airports -- Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Gran Canaria and Mallorca -- and have to remain in quarantine for two weeks after arrival.
Speaking on Thursday, Spain's Minister for the Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera said she hoped that the country would be able to start welcoming back foreign tourists from July onwards. Enditem
