In an interview on Wednesday, Michael O'Leary said he would support limiting air travel to those who are vaccinated. The Ryanair CEO says that this would replace the onerous testing regimes currently in place in the UK and encourage people to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, the government's latest red list pivot has caused general confusion as travelers began streaming out of quarantine hotels yesterday morning.
Limiting air travel, scrapping tests
Vaccination passports are a controversial issue. But no one could ever accuse Ryanair's Michael O'Leary of shying away from controversy. The European low-cost giant's boss is now taking a swing at the UK's erratic approach to travel restrictions. Accusing the government of 'making up rules as they go along', O'Leary also said that testing should be scrapped - and flying limited to those who are vaccinated.
“I see no justification for the UK government rules that passengers who’ve already done the sensible thing and got vaccinated now have to take tests before they travel and, more ludicrously, two days after they travel," O'Leary said as quoted by the Independent.
"Instead of introducing mandatory vaccination policies, you have to make it more and more attractive for people to become vaccinated. So I would support limiting air travel to vaccinated people,” the Ryanair boss continued.
While he said that he 'fully recognizes' the choices of those who believe in conspiracy theories between government and big pharma not to get the jab, he does not think they should enjoy the same freedoms as those who have received the vaccination.
O'Leary also expressed general displeasure with the government's reaction to the new Omicron variant, which he said was to cover up other forms of 'everyday mismanagement'.
Policies discouraging people from travel
The substantial testing requirements currently in place mean that even fully vaccinated people have to get tested before traveling to the UK. Furthermore, they must book and pay for a PCR test to be taken after arrival, no later than day two, and isolate while awaiting the results.
"It seems to us that their policies are designed specifically to discourage people from travelling by air, particularly when people are fully vaccinated. (...) People are travelling reasonably normally in Spain, Italy, Germany, and most of the rest of the EU countries," O'Leary stated in Wednesday's interview.
Quarantine confusion
The UK decided to scrap recently added African countries from its red list just yesterday. The decision came as quarantine would no longer be effective as Omicron was already so widespread, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. This has reportedly caused chaos at designated quarantine hotels, where thousands of travelers from 11 previously red-listed African countries were isolating after arrival.
A mass exodus ensued on Wednesday morning, with a steady stream of travelers leaving the premises from 04:00 when the new rules came into effect. However, the authorities had not given specific guidance as to whether or not the quarantine still needed to be completed, and it is unclear whether or not the departees will face fines of up to £10,000.
What are your thoughts on the UK's travel restrictions and Michael O'Leary's recent comments?