British Airways and Iberia Boss Willie Walsh Says Air Travel Quarantine Could Stop UK Expats Living on Spain´s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca From Flying Home

BRITISH AIRWAYS and Iberia boss Willie Walsh has said that any UK air travel quarantine could stop British expats on Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca from flying home.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in his speech yesterday (May 10) that Britain would introduce a 14-day quarantine for passengers flying into the country, which would mean that visitors would have to remain at a single address.

Walsh told MPs that there “was nothing positive in the address” from Johnson, and added that he would need to review plans to resume flights.

Walsh is the chief executive of BA and Iberia’s parent group, IAG, and speaking to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, he said a quarantine would make matters worse for travellers.

“We had been planning to resume – on a pretty significant basis – our flying in July. I think we’d have to review that based on what the Prime Minister said yesterday.”

Other carriers like easyJet and Ryanair have condemned the quarantine plans, and Walsh said that the development made no sense as it was important to get the UK economy moving again.

He also believed there was a strange inconsistency: “I think the air passenger quarantine is a surprise as similar measures are not in place for other forms of international travel.”