Airlines end legal challenge

Three of Europe’s biggest airlines yesterday said they would end a legal challenge against the government after it scrapped its quarantine rule for travellers coming from some of the most popular tourist destinations. The policy announcement coincided with a planned court hearing for a legal challenge to the measures by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair. The airlines heavily criticised the government’s introduction of a blanket rule that all travellers arriving from abroad must self-isolate for 14 days on June 8, saying it jeopardised the industry’s recovery from the crisis. However, they agreed to end the legal challenge after the government said it would publish a list of countries to which the rules would not apply. “The blanket quarantine introduced by the government on everyone entering into England was irrational and has seriously damaged the economy and the travel industry,” the airlines said in a statement.