Airlines plead with Britain to ease travel restrictions

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Airlines renewed their calls on
Britain to restart international travel, pleading with the
government to allow people vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel
freely with the peak summer season just weeks away and as Europe
begins to open up.

British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair
said Britain's strict quarantine rules which discourage
travel will deepen the industry's crisis as July and August, the
months when its makes most of its profits, approach.

"The UK will get left behind because I do see Europe
actually moving at a quicker pace to open up," British Airways
Chief Executive Sean Doyle said at an online conference.

"We should be acknowledging that vaccinated travellers have
an inherently lower risk when they travel than those who don't,"
he said. "It's crazy not to try and reap that dividend."

EU countries have agreed to an easing of travel restrictions
from July 1 that will allow fully vaccinated tourists to avoid
tests or quarantines. The bloc also agreed on Wednesday to allow
non-essential travel from the United States.

All EU countries are currently on Britain's amber list,
which means if people visit they still have to self-isolate upon
their return, even if they have been fully vaccinated.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement
that Britain should allow vaccinated UK and EU citizens to
travel between the United Kingdom and the European Union without
the need for quarantine and tests.

EasyJet said it was moving planes from the United Kingdom,
usually its biggest market, to Europe as that is now where most
of its bookings are coming from.

Planes that would usually fly from the Britain to Palma in
Mallorca, for example, are now flying from Berlin to the Spanish
island instead, easyJet said.

Britain on Monday delayed the full reopening of its economy
as cases of the Delta variant rise.

The aviation industry had been counting on Britons to be at
the forefront the resumption in travel given the country has one
of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world, with over half of
adults receiving two doses of the jab.

Britain will provide an update on its list of destinations
which do not require quarantine on June 24.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by David Clarke)