‘British people are ignoring this quarantine, they know it’s rubbish’: Ryanair CEO O’Leary confirms UK flights will continue

Ryanair will not cancel flights to and from the UK despite repeated protests from the company’s CEO Michael O’Leary about the government-imposed, 14-day quarantine required for international travelers.

“No, because the flights are full outbound of the UK. British people are ignoring this quarantine, they know it’s rubbish,” O’Leary said on Monday. 

The firebrand entrepreneur has been scathing in his repeated criticisms of the British government’s handling of the coronavirus response, particularly as all airlines were forced to ground the vast majority of their fleets.

The airline will be operating thousands of flights around Europe from July. O’Leary said that thousands of Britons are still booking European holidays but added that Europeans are unlikely to holiday in Britain on account of the quarantine rules, likely gutting the domestic British tourism industry in 2020.

Ryanair, EasyJet and IAG have sent a “pre-action protocol letter” to the UK government denouncing the quarantine plan, designed to prevent the widely-feared second wave of Covid-19, as “wholly unjustified and disproportionate.”

In England, for example, breach of quarantine rules will be punishable with a £1,000 ($1,268) fine, though the rules on air travel are due to be reviewed every three weeks. Meanwhile, the possibility of establishing “air bridges” between the UK and popular tourist destinations like Spain and Portugal is still being discussed.

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