The government announced the move following the outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in parts of Latin America, the Caribbean and the Cape Verde Islands.

The virus, which has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been linked to microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

The government said it asking airlines to spray all aircraft arriving in the UK from Zika-infected areas as a “precaution”.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said: “Spraying insecticide is a highly precautionary measure to reduce the risk to passengers during flights to the UK.

“I want to reassure people that the risk to the UK population is extremely low. We advise people travelling to affected areas to reduce the risk of themselves being bitten by wearing mosquito repellent, long sleeves and trousers.

“Pregnant women should consider avoiding travel to countries with the Zika virus - or if travel is unavoidable, they ought to seek travel health advice from their GP or a travel clinic well in advance of their trip.”

The first case of a pregnant woman in Europe being diagnosed with Zika has been confirmed in Spain. The patient recently returned from a trip to Colombia, where it is believed she was infected.

Major tour operators including Thomas Cook and Tui are allowing pregnant customers who are due to fly to an infected area to change their trips free of change for travel up to April 30.

The UK government is also to provide another £1 million to fund research into the nature of the Zika virus.