Ryanair has lashed out at Ireland’s “defective” 14-day quarantine rule as it announced plans to cut 1,000 flights between Ireland and Britain in the next two months.

The airline said the cut will see over 200,000 fewer passengers arriving into Ireland in August and September.

In a statement it said forcing passengers from EU countries to quarantine on arrival would result in “unrecoverable losses” for the Irish economy.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin arriving for the new Government’s first Cabinet meeting in Dublin Castle, 29-06-2020. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Questioning why the Taoiseach will not be required to self-isolate after returning from the EU Council meeting in Brussels later this this week, the airline called for all EU travel restrictions to be removed as a matter of urgency.

“If Micheál Martin does not quarantine for 14 days after visiting Brussels this week, then why should any other Irish or EU citizen be treated differently?” A Ryanair spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Ireland is now the only EU country with a blanket quarantine rule for tourists from other EU countries.

“It makes no sense, when Governments all over Europe have opened up EU flights since 1st June and removed travel restrictions on intra-EU travel, that the Irish Govt continues to treat countries like Germany, Denmark and Greece as if they were suffering similar levels of COVID as the USA, Brazil and India,” said the spokesperson.

Passengers wearing masks as they come through Arrivals in Dublin Airport today, 28-05-2020. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

The airline also labelled the regulations “ineffective” noting that people from Northern Ireland are able to travel to Europe freely through Dublin Airport.

They said the regulations are damaging the recovery of Ireland’s economy and tourism industry and warned that the current situation will lead to “long-term damage to jobs in Ireland’s largest employment sector.”

The Government has defended the Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s decision to travel to Brussels this week, noting that signing off on the EU budget is “essential work” for Ireland.