Update 9 June: The Quash Quarantine campaign group
threatening separate legal action against the UK’s quarantine measures has
decided to “pause” its efforts after receiving assurances that the government
would establish air bridges with low-risk countries by the time the first
review of the procedures is due on 29 June.
In a LinkedIn post, the group’s spokesman Paul Charles said:
“The Quash Quarantine group, consisting of over 500 travel and hospitality
companies seeking to overturn the recently-introduced quarantine measures, has
received private assurances from senior government sources that travel
corridors will be in place from 29 June.
“We urge the government to signal to the travel industry
publicly and urgently that this is the case, as well as amend FCO [Foreign and
Commonwealth Office] advice on non-essential travel.
“We are still considering our options regarding legal
action, including whether to join BA’s claim or launch our own action, but
would prefer that 29 June is confirmed as soon as possible for the start of
travel corridors. The industry needs urgent visibility on a timetable for
travel to begin again.”
British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair have threatened to take
legal action against the government for implementing a mandatory 14-day
quarantine requirement for all international travellers, which went into effect
today.
The airlines said they have written a letter to procurator
general Sir Jonathan Jones, the government’s most senior legal official, in the
first step to taking legal action. In it, they say the rules are more stringent
than those for people already in the country who are diagnosed with coronavirus
and argue the measures will stop people from travelling into or out of the UK,
further hindering the travel industry’s recovery. They are prepared to request a judicial review of the measures.
Under the new rules, only people from the Republic of
Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, as well as haulage, seasonal
agricultural and medical workers and UK residents who ordinarily travel
overseas for work at least once a week are exempt. All others are required to
fill out a form with their contact details and the address where they will
self-isolate on arrival; anyone who fails to complete this form faces a £100
fine or could be denied entry. Random checks will be made during the 14-day
period to ensure travellers are not breaching the rules, and those who do break
quarantine could be fined £1,000 (or £480 in Scotland).
Last week, International Airlines Group (IAG) chief executive
Willie Walsh told Sky News the government had not consulted with the aviation
industry about its plans before announcing them. BA was invited to take part in
a call with home secretary Priti Patel and other travel companies but refused
to attend. According to the BBC, aviation bosses said they were disappointed
with the content of the call.
The Home Office insists the measures were introduced based
on science and have been designed to stop the spread of the virus from outside
the UK to prevent a second peak. They will be reviewed every three weeks, with
the first evaluation due by 29 June.
While the government has said it could look at establishing “air
bridges” with other countries such as Spain, Portugal and France, its official
position is that the idea is only “under consideration”.
The rules come into force as thousands of jobs in the
aviation industry are at risk. BA is consulting with unions on up to 12,000 job
losses and changes to employees’ pay and conditions, while Ryanair and Virgin
Atlantic are considering cutting 3,000 staff each and Easyjet has warned it may
have to reduce its staffing levels by up to 30 per cent. Heathrow has said
around 25,000 jobs could be at risk at the airport, and Swissport, the country’s
biggest airport services company, said the measures could be a “killer blow” to
the tourism sector.