Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, said British Airways was fighting for its survival.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, said British Airways was fighting for its survival.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, said British Airways was fighting for its survival.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, said British Airways was fighting for its survival.

Aviation

BA owner considering legal challenge to UK quarantine rules

IAG chief warns ‘irrational’ coronavirus measure would scupper airline’s chance of resuming most flights in July

Arthur Scott-Geddes
Arthur Scott-Geddes

June 05, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

The parent company of British Airways is considering launching a legal challenge against the UK's plan to quarantine arriving travellers, its chief executive said on Friday.

IAG boss Willie Walsh told Britain’s Sky News channel there had been no consultation with the industry before the rule change and he was reviewing possible action with lawyers.

The incoming quarantine measures state that from June 8, those arriving in Britain from abroad need to stay at home for 14 days. The rule is expected to put people off of booking holidays and is a major setback for airlines, which have already been hit hard by the pandemic.

"I wrote to MPs last night to say this initiative has in effect torpedoed our opportunity to get flying in July," Mr Walsh said.

"We think it is irrational, we think it is disproportionate and we are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation."

The pandemic has brought global air travel to a near halt, with entire fleets grounded. EPA
The pandemic has brought global air travel to a near halt, with entire fleets grounded. EPA

Mr Walsh added that he expected other airlines to follow suit.

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BA, along with rivals such as easyJet and Ryanair, had been hoping to resume flights in July after a three-month period where most aircraft have been grounded because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Any legal challenge would be an escalation of the row with ministers after IAG and the head of BA declined to attend a meeting with the UK interior minister on Thursday.

BA also came under attack from British politicians earlier this week over the 12,000 job cuts it is planning to make.

It says it needs to lay off staff as the travel market will be smaller after coronavirus.

Mr Walsh told Sky News that no decisions had been made on the redundancies and urged unions to attend consultation meetings over the job cuts. IAG also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus.
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People dance to music at the Trocadero Human Rights Plaza near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. EPA
People dance to music at the Trocadero Human Rights Plaza near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. EPA
A member of the Covid-19 operational centre (CCO) is seen as soldiers form the Malagasy Gendarmerie patrol the streets of Toamasina, a port city in eastern Madagascar, where containment measures have been reinforced since June 1. AFP
A member of the Covid-19 operational centre (CCO) is seen as soldiers form the Malagasy Gendarmerie patrol the streets of Toamasina, a port city in eastern Madagascar, where containment measures have been reinforced since June 1. AFP
An aerial view shows the opening night of a drive-in festival in the southern Athens' suburb of Glyfada as Greece eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of Covid-19. AFP
An aerial view shows the opening night of a drive-in festival in the southern Athens' suburb of Glyfada as Greece eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of Covid-19. AFP
A young Fulani herder sits on his donkey in the village of Mbetiou Peulh. Pastoral families have been stuck around this village since the Covid-19 restrictions were put in place in March 2020. AFP
A young Fulani herder sits on his donkey in the village of Mbetiou Peulh. Pastoral families have been stuck around this village since the Covid-19 restrictions were put in place in March 2020. AFP
Two elderly women meet in a so-called "Heart Room" installed on the grounds of the Humlehaven nursing home in Arslev on the island of Funen, Denmark. AFP
Two elderly women meet in a so-called "Heart Room" installed on the grounds of the Humlehaven nursing home in Arslev on the island of Funen, Denmark. AFP
An employee drives with his bicycle at the state camp of North Rhine-Westphalia with protective equipment in Duesseldorf, western Germany amid the ongoing pandemic. AFP
An employee drives with his bicycle at the state camp of North Rhine-Westphalia with protective equipment in Duesseldorf, western Germany amid the ongoing pandemic. AFP
French medecine professor Didier Raoult walks along a wall painted by graffitti artist Jace at his IHU medical institute in Marseille where his works have been at the forefront of promoting hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19 and has also been subject to criticisms over methodology. AFP
French medecine professor Didier Raoult walks along a wall painted by graffitti artist Jace at his IHU medical institute in Marseille where his works have been at the forefront of promoting hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19 and has also been subject to criticisms over methodology. AFP
Migrant labourers and their families from Chhattisgarh sit during a protest held against the government and to demand their return to their native places outside the Deputy Commissioner's office after the government eased a nationwide lockdown, in Amritsar. AFP
Migrant labourers and their families from Chhattisgarh sit during a protest held against the government and to demand their return to their native places outside the Deputy Commissioner's office after the government eased a nationwide lockdown, in Amritsar. AFP
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Primary school children wearing face masks as a protective measure arrive for a class at Hasin Primary School in Sosong District in Pyongyang following the re-opening of schools. AFP
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Berlin Tango ridden by David Probert goes on to win Unibet Classic Trial Stakes, as racing resumes behind closed doors at Sunbury-on-Thames, Britain. Reuters
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A man walks past inflatable items for sale on a roadside amid an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, in New Delhi, India. EPA
The seating area of the Berliner Ensemble theatre shows gaps of removed seats due to coronavirus measures in Berlin, Germany. EPA
The seating area of the Berliner Ensemble theatre shows gaps of removed seats due to coronavirus measures in Berlin, Germany. EPA
Result

UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')

Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure

Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels

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Founded: 2018

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Sector: Startups

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Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

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