easyJet Share News (EZJ)

(Sharecast News) - British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair on Friday started legal action against the UK government over its coronavirus quarantine policy and called for an early court date.
The trio argue that the 14-day quarantine rule for international arrivals, which started on Monday, would deter travellers and stymie any recovery in the sector, which has been hammered by lockdowns and a collapse in passenger traffic, leading to heavy job losses.

They are also calling on the government to reconsider a policy briefly introduced in March that targeted passengers entering from "high-risk" countries for quarantine.

"This 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 airlines said.

Ministers have insisted that the policy has been based on recommendations by scientific advisers, however, the UK's chief scientist said earlier in June that politicians had made the final call.

BA parent company IAG said in a statement that there was no scientific evidence on which to base the severity of the policy.

The suggestion of "air bridges" between countries with low infection rates was also dismissed by the airlines.

"The airlines have not yet seen any evidence on how and when proposed 'air bridges' between the UK and other countries will be implemented," they said.

A Ryanair spokesperson earlier this week said the "measures are disproportionate and unfair on British citizens as well as international visitors arriving in the UK".

"We urge the government to remove this ineffective visitor quarantine which will have a devastating effect on UK's tourism industry and will destroy even more thousands of jobs in this unprecedented crisis."

Outspoken Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said he would not cancel flights because "British people are ignoring this quarantine. They know it's rubbish", while his counterpart at easyJet, Johan Lundgren, said the government had rushed through the measures and that the airlines had a good chance of winning their legal action.

"We think that there's enough evidence and there's a strong case here that this should be challenged by the courts. This is something that has been rushed through. It's not in proportion."

Lundgren also warned the quarantine would lead to more job losses. Last month, the airline said was planning to cut 30% of its workforce, some 4,500 jobs, because of the impact of the coronavirus on the aviation industry.

BA has already announced controversial plans to sack about 12,000 staff and lower the terms and conditions of remaining employees in a move condemned by unions and ministers.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, which represents cabin crew, said: "BA and its owners IAG can afford to see out this crisis without such drastic cuts. This is a company with a lot of cash, strong assets and sustainable debt. The company controls some of the most profitable routes in the world and is backed by the Qatar royal family," a 25% shareholder in IAG.