British Airways, Ryanair and Easyjet launch quarantine legal action
The UK’s three largest airlines have today launched legal action against the government’s plan to make all incoming travellers to the UK quarantine for 14 days.
Rivals British Airways, Ryanair and Easyjet have come together to see a legal review of the plan as soon as possible.
In a joint statement, they said the measures would “have a devastating effect on British tourism and the wider economy and destroy thousands of jobs”.
The airlines have called for the government to reinstate their old policy of only quarantining those passengers from high-risk countries.
They also said that they had seen no movement on the implementation of “air bridges” to low-risk countries, which had been much-touted as a targeted solution to the blanket ban.
The three said switching to the old policy “would be the most practical and effective solution and enables civil servants to focus on other, more significant, issues arising from the pandemic while bringing the UK in line with much of Europe which is opening its borders mid-June”.
The legal challenge is based on four arguments, including that the measures are more severe than are faced by those who have been confirmed to have coronavirus.
They also argue that the quarantine was put in place without any consultation or scientific evidence.
Lawyers have said the government would have to show the scientific evidence that underpinned the need for a quarantine if judges allow a judicial review to go ahead.
The government’s plan has met with widespread criticism from across the UK economy, with airlines and travel firms particularly virulent in their criticism.
A 500-strong group of travel firms called Quash Quarantine have said that they have had assurances from senior officials that air bridges will be implemented by the end of the month.
Speaking earlier this week, Easyjet boss Johan Lundgren said that he could not rule out having to make more job cuts due to the measures.
And Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye warned that a third of the 76,000 jobs at the UK’s largest airport were at risk due to the measures.