Airlines British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have announced that they have filed a lawsuit against the British government to waive travelers' UK arrival quarantine as an anti-coronavirus measure. The three airlines say in a joint note that the quarantine in effect since last Monday and for at least three weeks "will have a devastating effect on British tourism and the economy in general and will destroy thousands of jobs" and have asked that the cause be discussed "as soon as possible". According to the three companies, the quarantine would be too restrictive, and not based on any scientific opinion or evidence. In addition, French and Germans who travel to Britain weekly are exempted from it, while it applies to travelers from countries where the infection rates for the new coronavirus are lower than in the UK.
The gross domestic product of the United Kingdom fell by 20.4% in April compared to the previous month and by 24.5% compared to the same month in 2019. The drop is greater than the analysts' estimates that expected a drop of 18.7% . The drop due to the lockdown following the spread of coronavirus follows that of March by 5.4%.