Airports are bracing for chaos tomorrow as the UK government’s quarantine rules are put in place. Airlines and airports reportedly only received instructions on Friday afternoon detailing the rules that had to be put in place. According to Home Secretary Priti Patel, anyone arriving in the UK from tomorrow will have to quarantine for 14 days.
The rules will then be reviewed after three weeks.
The aviation industry is hoping that “air bridges” could be introduced by the end of the month.
This would mean that anyone flying between the UK and one specific country would be exempt from quarantine rules.
The new rules issued also included a script for onboard announcements and posters to be put up in the airports.
It has now been understood that easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways are now all allegedly pursuing legal action against the government to block the new quarantine rules, according to The Sun.
Airlines have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic which has seen travel restrictions enforced across the world.
British Airways is reportedly planning up to 12,000 redundancies, while Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair are reportedly planning on axing at least 3,000 jobs.
easyJet is also reportedly planning to cut 4,500 jobs.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG who own British Airways said he thinks the quarantine rules are “irrational”.
He said: “We think [quarantine] is irrational, we think it’s disproportionate, and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge.
“It’s important to point out there was no consultation with the industry prior to enacting this legislation.”
Downing Street would not comment on the alleged legal action.
However, a Government spokesman said: “We have been clear that public health measures at the border would be in place from June 8 … the form to provide contact details has been live since Thursday, giving those travelling more than enough time.
“There has been full consultation with the aviation industry on the requirement to provide public health information to passengers.”
