Ryanair's Battle To Quash Quarantine As Families Tempted By Cut-Price Deals

Ryanair is threatening to take the Government to court in a bid to overturn the controversial quarantine laws.

- Giles Sheldrick

The airline reported a surge in flight bookings yesterday, but is still worried the new strict regulations will halt any recovery in holiday travel.

From yesterday anyone flying into the UK must self-isolate for 14 days. The low-cost airline’s chief Michael O’Leary called the new rules “worse than useless” as he launched a bid to get them overturned in time for late summer holidays.

He said: “We don’t see how the Home Office will be able to put up any defence whatsoever.

“There is no way that they can argue in court that this is an effective quarantine or that this has any scientific basis at all.

“It is an irrational measure that does untold economic damage to British tourism, to millions of jobs in British tourism – not just in July and August but for the rest of this year.”

After being grounded for approaching 100 days airlines and tour operators are offering up to 20 per cent of available seats at knockdown prices.

Ryanair, Europe’s busiest airline, has led with price cuts on many of its routes in a bid to tempt families to gamble on the restrictions being lifted. But it said bookings for the summer months were still at roughly 50 per cent of what they would usually be.