Brit Expats And Ryanair Boss Furious Over New UK Quarantine Ruling

UK airlines are joining Brit expats in Spain in rage over the new UK quarantine and deportation ruling.

New ministerial restrictions announced in the UK yesterday are angering both British expats in Spain and UK airlines struggling to survive the coronavirus crisis. Home Secretary Priti Patel is to announce the new rulings next Wednesday in spite of Tory unease and condemnation by airlines and British expats overseas. Basically, 14 days in isolation for anyone arriving in Britain will be mandatory, with no waiver available for those arriving from Spain, a country which has won international praise for its handling of the pandemic.

British returnees as well as foreign nationals refusing to comply with rulings confining them to single residences will face deportation as a last resort, and the government is said to be working on an ‘air bridge’ scheme allowing safe, simple travel between the UK and states with acceptably low rates of the virus. Although the vast majority of British expats living, retiring or working in Spain see no point in returning to the UK at this point in time, they’re still angry that the new rulings will apply to them, no matter their personal reasons for repatriating.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has also lashed out at the British government over the issue, describing the new rulings as yet another mismanaged shambles for a government that’s ‘making it up as it goes along’. He believes the quarantine ruling can only be successful if passengers are herded up and detained at their point of arrival. Allowing them to travel via public transport to their homes, with nothing to stop them shopping for necessities before going into quarantine, is, he believes, a recipe for disaster as regards a new wave of infections.