Ryanair to sue UK government over traffic-light system for international travel By Reuters

By Aishwarya Nair and Akriti Sharma

(Reuters) -Ryanair Holdings Plc and the owner of three major English airports said on Wednesday they would sue the UK government over the ‘traffic light’ system it has put in place for international travel.

The low-cost Irish airline and Manchester Airports Group (MAG) will file High Court papers on Thursday to seek clarity over the transparency of the system, a MAG spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Britain’s Department for Transport did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside business hours.

In April, the British government proposed a traffic light system, with countries falling into red, amber or green categories based on the perceived degree of COVID-19 risk.

Britain removed Portugal from its quarantine-free travel list earlier in June, leaving fewer than a dozen countries on the ‘green list’ and sparking outrage from embattled airlines.

The court papers will argue that the British government should clearly explain how it makes decisions on categorising countries, given the “dramatic” impact these decisions have on the aviation industry.

“The current opaque way that decisions are being made is undermining consumer confidence to book summer holidays and makes it impossible for airports, airlines and other travel companies to plan for the recovery of international travel,” the companies said in a statement to Reuters.

The aviation industry had been counting on Britons to be at the forefront of the resumption in travel, given the country has one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world.

Britain will provide an update on its list of destinations which do not require quarantine on June 24.

The news was first reported by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.