Ryanair to sue UK government over border policy

Ryanair and the owner of three major airports are preparing to sue the government over the UK’s border policy. The low-cost airline and Manchester Airports Group say they will lodge High Court papers on Thursday to seek a judicial review over the transparency of the traffic-light system for international travel. The current framework allows only passengers returning from fewer than a dozen countries to avoid quarantine, and was recently tightened to remove Portugal, the only main tourist hub. The court papers will argue that the government should clearly explain how it makes decisions when categorising countries, given the “dramatic” impact these decisions have on the aviation industry. MAG owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports. “The current opaque way that decisions are being made is undermining consumer confidence in the traffic-light system and makes it impossible for airports, airlines and other travel companies to plan for the recovery of international travel or work with the government on future reviews,” the two companies said. The aviation industry broadly welcomed the traffic-light system but was disappointed that only a small number of countries were put on the “green list” last month. That disappointment turned to anger when Portugal was taken off the list this month, leaving holidaymakers’ plans in chaos and airlines ripping up their schedules. Passengers returning from countries on the green list do not have to quarantine when they arrive back in the UK. The travel industry also questioned why several countries and territories with low infection rates were not added to the green list.<br/>