Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said he believed Britain's coronavirus quarantine will be struck down by the courts or dropped within weeks as some of Europe's biggest airlines prepare to file a legal challenge by the end of Tuesday. The 14-day quarantine for international arrivals, introduced on Monday, has led to the most vociferous clash between a major industry and PM Boris Johnson's government during the COVID-19 crisis. By insisting on the quarantine despite public pleas from airline veterans such as IAG's Willie Walsh and O'Leary, Britain has united some of the fiercest rivals in aviation who are already reeling from a sudden global halt in air travel. O'Leary said he hoped a court would hear an emergency legal challenge by the end of this week to halt the quarantine - imposed just as most European countries were reopening their economies. "I think in their heart of hearts, the government would like the courts to strike it down because it would get them off the hook," the Ryanair chief said. "I think either the courts will strike it down this week or the government will quietly drop it before the end of June." The legal action, proposed by British Airways and supported by low-cost rivals Ryanair and easyJet , is seeking injunctive relief and legal papers are due to be filed on Monday or Tuesday, he added.<br/>
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El Al Monday extended unpaid leave for 5,800 workers until July 31 and said that without state aid it will not be able to resume operations once the country’s borders, shut over the coronavirus crisis, reopen. Israel’s flag carrier on Sunday extended a suspension of scheduled commercial flights until June 30 but said it would continue to use its aircraft for cargo and occasional passenger flights. While Israel has eased its coronavirus restrictions in the past few weeks, incoming passengers are still required to self isolate and a ban on foreigners entering the country remains in place. Due to weak demand, El Al halted flights in late March and the suspension has been extended repeatedly. In a letter to employees, chief executive Gonen Usishkin said El Al is studying the latest government offer.<br/>
The head of Thai AirAsia does not see the pandemic as a catalyst for new trends, instead considering the disease a phenomenon that requires "temporary extras" to cool down a panic wave for a period of time. Santisuk Klongchaiya, chief executive of TAA, said at the beginning of the outbreak, the company had a hard time managing uncertainties, such as flight status, partially because of fast-changing rules and regulations for each destination. This resulted in passenger confusion, followed by chaos as droves of people wanted reservation changes. TAA's call centre, which normally has 6,000-7,000 calls per day, recorded a new peak of 100,000 incoming calls, exceeding its capacity. He said leaving middle seats empty and a 14-day quarantine on arrival are acceptable for short period of time, but not practical in the long term for businesses or sustainability. "The airline business has been faced with uncertainty because of the virus for five months, but high operation costs continue as usual," said Santisuk. "We have to efficiently manage cash flow as no revenue came in, especially during April when we did not have flights." While there were reports that AirAsia (based in Malaysia) may lay off its workforce by 30% to streamline operation costs amid the crisis, TAA chose to maintain its fleet size and workforce. Some 30% of domestic flights have resumed. He said even though forecasts projected aviation businesses would collapse, he rejects these because he expects the tourism industry in Thailand to rebound with strong demand from inbound tourists. <br/>
JetBlue Airways expects to fly about half of its original schedule in July, up from about 25% to 30% in June, and a bit more in August as leisure demand begins to recover, CE Robin Hayes said Monday. The carrier may start flying to some Caribbean destinations in July after discussions in those markets on how to safely reopen, he said, but warned that airlines are still under "enormous pressure" from the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to hit business and international travel demand.<br/>