British Airways Settles Quarantine Suit With U.K. Government

British Airways parent IAG SA settled a dispute with the U.K. over a policy to force visitors to self-isolate for 14 days, agreeing to withdraw the London litigation when the government updated its plan Friday.

The agreement came together just four hours after proceedings began in London’s High Court. British Airways attorney Tom Hickman said the carrier agreed to drop its action with the release of the official guidance.

The quarantine was introduced in early June to guard against a resurgence in coronavirus cases as lockdowns eased. But just before the court hearing began, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the U.K. would scrap the requirements for people arriving from more than 50 countries, and the plan was released around 3 p.m.

British Airways Lambastes Quarantine as Unscientific in Court

The original approach had been criticized by airlines and holiday firms, including Easyjet Plc and Ryanair Holdings Plc, who supported the lawsuit. At Friday’s hearing, the airlines said the government’s own scientific adviser, Professor John Aston, noted that compulsory isolation should only be imposed “on people arriving from countries that have a higher prevalence” of coronavirus.

“The blanket quarantine introduced by the U.K. government on everyone entering into England was irrational and has seriously damaged the economy and the travel industry” the three carriers said in a statement after the settlement. “We look forward to the publication of the rationale behind the decision making and the continued lifting of the quarantine from safe countries.”

The government was entitled to take a “precautionary approach,” government lawyer James Eadie said, and took account of the scientific advice. Even the scientists believed that judging the “tipping point” at which border controls should be introduced wasn’t a scientific question “but a matter of policy,” he said.

The U.K. list includes more than 50 countries, but the U.S., where infection rates remain high, was excluded for now.

The announcement will come as a relief for the airline industry, which has been ravaged by the effective shutdown of air travel brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. European airlines have announced plans to slash almost 75,000 jobs since the coronavirus pandemic started, based on a Bloomberg tally. British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair account for about a quarter of those.

The EU restrictions, which are non-binding on member states, recommend that visitors only be allowed into the bloc from countries where the average number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks is similar to or below the level of the EU, and that the trend of new cases is declining. While border controls are a responsibility of individual governments, it commits member states to coordinate their approach and not lift the ban for countries outside the list.