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June 12, 2020

Three major airlines have filed a lawsuit against the British government's request for self-isolation of all international arrivals for 14 days to curb the spread of the coronavirus. British Airways, Ryanair and EasyJet have called for an urgent judicial review of the quarantine rule, which will "have a devastating effect on British tourism and the economy in general and destroy thousands of jobs".

"Airlines have not yet seen any evidence on how and when the proposed" air bridges "between the UK and other countries will be implemented," they wrote in a joint statement. "Air bridges" would create exemptions that would allow tourists to return from countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece without having to isolate themselves. Ireland is currently the only nation exempted from the quarantine rule, which the government imposed on Monday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the measure, initially in effect only until June 28, was necessary so that "those who come from abroad ... do not spread the virus unknowingly".

Airlines urged the government to return to a previous rule requiring quarantine for arrivals from "high-risk" countries, "aligning the UK with much of Europe, which is opening its borders in mid-June" . They stressed that there was "no consultation and no scientific evidence provided for such a strict policy", adding that the government was effectively banning people from traveling to countries with lower coronavirus infection rates than in Britain.

Britain reported the highest death toll in Europe from coronavirus-infected people, around 41,000. Its estimated infection rate remains higher than in most European countries.