easyJet urges UK Government to revise quarantine rules

UK-based low cost carrier easyJet is urging the government to only keep quarantine requirements for a short period, while other British aviation businesses like Heathrow Airport call for a plan to reopen borders as new travel rules were announced for the United Kingdom.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that a quarantine would soon be needed for people coming into the country by air to prevent a second peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. That has created a new threat to airlines and airports, who are desperate for travel demand to recover. As such industries are pleading to the government to find an alternative to quarantine plans for international arrivals or risk seeing airlines and airports being dealt a fatal blow from COVID-19.

G-UZMC easyJet Airbus A321-251NX landing at EGKK. Photo by Karam Sodhi | AeroNewsX

Airlines and airports do not know when the rules will be brought in, how long they will last and whether they will be reviewed regularly. The new quarantine rules won’t be applied to travelers coming from France at this stage, both France and the UK said on Sunday, while at the same time airlines had said on Sunday that the new rules wouldn’t be applied to arrivals from Ireland. Airline fleets have been grounded since March putting company finances under huge strain. The new rules, which airlines have been told will be a 14-day quarantine period for most people arriving from abroad, are likely to deter people from travelling. 

“Quarantine requirements for passengers should only be in place for a short period, while the UK remains in lockdown,” a spokeswoman for easyJet said in an statement.

Passenger numbers at Heathrow Airport plunged 97 percent in April and the airport warned that the new quarantine rules would “effectively close borders temporarily”, limiting people from travelling.

Heathrow Airport, which during normal times is Europe's busiest airport, called for common international standards to enable passengers to travel freely between low risk counties within the UK once the virus is under control.