Ryanair operates more than 30 European routes out of Liverpool Airport and is looking to resume flights but Mr O’Leary says the quarantine plan is a ‘shambles’. Tony McDonough reports
Ryanair chief executive Michael’ O’Leary says the UK’s plan to quarantine everyone arriving in the UK from June 8 is “useless”.
Earlier this week, the director of Marketing Liverpool, Chris Brown, said the 14-day quarantine rule would deal a “severe blow” to Liverpool city region’s £5bn visitor economy and joined with other tourism leaders asking for a Government rethink.
Now Mr O’Leary has added to the criticism. Speaking on ITV’s Peston show, he said the policy would be a shambles as new arrivals in the UK will only have to fill in a form and then would be free to mix with other people on public transport.
Ryanair operates more than 30 European routes out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport and says it plans to resume 40% of its flights from July 1, subject to travel restrictions being lifted with the EU.
“The problem with this quarantine is, it’s not a quarantine. You know a quarantine is only effective if you kind of trap people or gather people at the point of entry,” said Mr O’Leary.
“Here, they are asking people to fill in a non-existent form on arrival at Heathrow or Gatwick, then get on to London Underground or the trains, buses, public transport, stop off in Tesco, maybe go to Halfords before you reach your quarantine address.”
He claimed people arriving in the UK from overseas could easily mislead the authorities by claiming they are self-isolating when in reality they are out and about mingling with other people in public places.
He added: “You give them your mobile phone number and in the unlikely event that anybody calls you over the next two weeks, you can answer the phone from a beach, from a golf course, from your office, from your local demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament and say, ‘Yes I’m quarantining away in perfect compliance’.”