UPDATE 2-BA, easyJet and Ryanair fight British quarantine with legal action

(Adds detail, background)

By Sarah Young

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - British Airways, easyJet
and Ryanair said on Friday they have begun legal action
against the British government's quarantine policy in a bid to
overturn what they see as overly strict rules.

All three airlines had hoped to resume regular flights after
air travel came to a total standstill during the coronavirus
pandemic, leading to almost 20,000 job losses between them.

But Britain's 14-day quarantine, introduced on June 8 for
arrivals from abroad, is deterring bookings at a time when other
European countries are beginning to open their borders.

The airlines said in a statement issued by BA's parent
company IAG they had lodged their complaint with the
High Court, asking for a judicial review as soon as possible.

If judges agree, lawyers have said the government would have
to show the scientific evidence that underpinned the rule.

There was no immediate response from the British government,
which has previously defended quarantine as necessary to prevent
a second wave of the coronavirus.

Britain's chief scientist said earlier in June that
politicians decided the policy, adding quarantines worked best
for restricting travel from countries with high infection rates.

The airlines said there was no scientific evidence for the
policy and there had been no consultation with the industry on
the new rules.

Their legal action escalates tensions with the British
government, and the relationship is in contrast to France and
Germany where governments have bailed out their carriers.

The airlines said they wanted the government to re-adopt its
previous quarantine policy introduced on March 10 which applied
only to passengers arriving from countries deemed as high risk.

They also dismissed "air bridges", bilateral deals between
countries with low infection rates, which the government has
presented as a potential alternative to the quarantine, saying
they had not yet seen any evidence of how these would work.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Alexander
Smith)