Quarantine for UK arrivals challenged

Britain introduced a two-week quarantine yesterday for most people arriving from abroad, sparking condemnation from the ailing aviation sector.

Residents and visitors will have to comply with the 14-day self-isolation rules or face a 1,000 (HK$9,797) fine or prosecution.

British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair have launched joint legal proceedings against the government over what they called a "disproportionate and unfair" step.

Chief executive of London's Heathrow airport, John Holland-Kaye, said it could lead to the loss of potentially 25,000 jobs - a third of staff.

But health secretary Matt Hancock defended the new rules, saying: "The proportion of infections that come from abroad increases [as Britain's own caseload drops.]"

For Britain's devolved nations, more exemptions - such as lorry drivers, "essential" health-care workers and travelers who have been in Ireland for two weeks - are in place, with the measures assessed every three weeks.

At Heathrow, where only two of the five terminals are operating, the quarantine got a mixed reception.

"It's a good idea," said Sandy Banks, 45, returning from Jamaica via the United States. "Other countries are doing it."

However, a London-based Dutch lawyer called it a "political thing."

"I just think it's a bonkers idea. More people are ill and dying in the UK; probably Europe should be protected from us."

Britain's official death toll is 40,542 - second only to the United States.

Home secretary Priti Patel told lawmakers last week the measure was "backed by the science, supported by the public and essential to save lives."

But main opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer called it a "blunt instrument."

"Weeks ago other countries put quarantine in and we didn't, now as everybody's lifting it we are putting it in," he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is in the meantime trying to arrange "travel corridors" with countries such as France and Spain that could see the quarantine demands lifted, but airlines say they cannot wait until the deals are done.

"[The quarantine] will have a devastating effect on [the] UK's tourism industry and will destroy thousands of jobs," the airlines said in a joint statement.