Aviation, tourism groups protest U.K.’s 14-day quarantine

LONDON — Britain began imposing a 14-day quarantine Monday on travellers coming into the country, months after other European countries imposed similar measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The quarantine was roundly criticized by the aviation and tourism industries, with many questioning its timing. Critics say its introduction has come too late to be useful, and some doubted it could be effectively enforced.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary called the quarantine a “political stunt” and argued that it will cause “untold devastation” for the country’s tourism industry, not just for the airlines.

“The thousands of hotels, the thousands of visitor attractions, restaurants in the next couple of months — July and August are the two key months for British tourism,” he added. “We’re facing thousands of jobs losses because of a stupid, ineffective quarantine.”

All passengers — bar a handful of exceptions like truckers or medical workers — will be asked to fill in a form detailing where they will self-isolate for two weeks and must give a phone number so authorities can check up on them. The requirement applies regardless whether they are U.K. citizens or not, and those who fail to comply could be fined.

The quarantine was imposed after a heated debate on whether it would help British efforts to tamp down the U.K. outbreak or simply stamp out any hopes that the British tourism industry will recover following months of lockdown.

Many other European countries are beginning to reopen their borders as their infection numbers come down.