British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair take legal action against the British government
London:
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair said Friday they had taken legal action against the British government over the introduction earlier this week of its “defective” 14-day coronavirus quarantine.
The three airlines said the policy “would have a devastating effect on British tourism and the wider economy and destroy thousands of jobs” and asked that their judicial review “be heard as soon as possible” “.
“There has been no consultation and no scientific evidence has provided such a harsh policy,” they added among the reasons for the court challenge.
Britain deployed its new two-week quarantine on Monday for most people arriving from abroad in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus, prompting condemnation from the struggling aviation sector.
British residents and visitors from overseas must comply with the 14-day self-isolation rules or face a fine of 1,000 ($ 1,250, 1,125 euros) or prosecution.
But critics have wondered why Britain, which has been the hardest hit by COVID-19 in Europe and is only gradually releasing the lock, is inflicting more suffering on hotels and airlines by reducing travel from countries with fewer cases of virus.
British Airways and low-budget carriers planned to start joint court proceedings immediately during this stage, but fell behind amid reports that the government was about to introduce so-called “air bridges” in some countries.
But in their statement on Friday, the airlines said they “had not yet seen any evidence on how and when the proposed” air bridges “between the UK and other countries will be implemented. “.
The airlines have said they want the government to reinstate the measures introduced on March 10, which only included quarantining passengers from “high risk” countries.
“It would be the most practical and effective solution and would allow officials to focus on other more important problems arising from the pandemic while aligning the United Kingdom with much of Europe which is opening its borders to mid-June, “they added.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
