Ryanair slams Ireland’s ‘Father Ted’ quarantine rules

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson has slammed the Irish government’s introduction of a ‘green’ list of safe countries, from which travellers may enter Ireland without being required to self-quarantine.

The list currently includes Malta, Finland, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Slovakia, Greece, Greenland, Gibraltar, Monaco and San Marino. Anyone who flies into Ireland that is not on the list will be requested to self-isolate for two weeks.

Wilson has told the media that he believes the notion of the list is “bizarre”, “half-baked” and “ineffective”. 

“The idea that we are going to splice up the European Union seems bizarre,” he said, while also noting how nonsensical it is to keep the border open between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, while excluding the rest of the UK.

Elsewhere, a Ryanair spokesperson noted a major oversight in the compilation of the list, stating that travellers coming from some of the named countries on the ‘green’ list will physically be unable to travel to Ireland, without passing through a country that isn’t on the list.

“We have noticed no increase in booking activity between Ireland and Monaco, Gibraltar, Greenland or San Marino because there are no direct flights between Ireland and these four countries,” the spokesperson said.

“The only way to travel to these four countries is to go from other EU countries that are not on Ireland’s green list, which makes this list idiotic and useless.

“For example, Monaco has no airport, so you can only travel there via Nice in France, which is not on Ireland’s green list and so visitors to Ireland would have to quarantine.

“Similar with Gibraltar. It can only be accessed via Faro in Portugal or Malaga in southern Spain, so all visitors from Gibraltar to Ireland would have to quarantine even though Gibraltar is on this Father Ted green list.”

Here, Ryanair has likened the government’s green list to an Irish sitcom from the ’90s, beloved for its inappropriate and often absurd humour.

Wilson has argued that Ireland should reopen for business, and do away with mandatory quarantine. He argued that other European countries have adopted ways to reopen their borders with confidence, including encouraging the wearing of face masks.

“This is not about holidays, it is about business and connectivity,” Wilson said, and added that forcing travellers to quarantine, “says there is something wrong” in Ireland. Instead, he put forward that Ireland introduces “sensible” measures to assist the country and restore confidence in travel to Ireland.

The Irish government has also faced criticism from others for publishing the ‘green list’ of appropriate travel destinations, despite the country maintaining its advice against all non-essential travel.

Critics have said the Irish government’s advice is confusing, and sending mixed messages on its official stance on travelling during the pandemic.