Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has called on the Irish and UK governments to drop plans to impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers arriving from other countries.

“14-day quarantines have no scientific basis, are unimplementable and unnecessary in circumstances where airline, train and underground passengers wear face masks where social distancing isn’t possible,” he said.

Masks

Mr O’Leary said quarantine measures were now being scrapped in most other European countries in favour of face masks and social distancing.

The airline recently announced plans to ramp up its operations from 1 July.

On Wednesday, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued guidelines urging airline passengers to practice distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and use medical face masks.

Information

It also said passengers would be asked to provide contact information to allow for ‘track and trace’ if someone on their flight later tested positive for COVID-19.

The Ryanair boss urged governments, especially those in Ireland and the UK, to mandate the wearing of face masks for airline, train and underground passengers.

“This is the best and most effective way to limit the spread of Covid-19 in public transport environments where social distancing is not possible,” he said.