Ryanair has blasted NPHET and the Government’s coronavirus travel restrictions and have called for the Green List to be ripped up and expanded.
The furious airline urged the Government to revise its travel list to include those EU countries such as the UK and Germany - which have lower Covid-19 case rates than Ireland - and others such as Portugal, Austria, Poland and Greece - whose Covid-19 case rates are similar to Ireland - to be added from September.
They have already cut a fifth of its flights for the next two months after bookings dived on the back of new travel restrictions.
In an angry rant, the carrier attacked NPHET, the Green List, Ireland’s testing and contact tracing ability, and the Government’s handling of the crisis following a number of new restrictions announced on Tuesday.
“NPHET and Ireland are the laughing stock of Europe,” the statement began.
“We have operated the most isolationist travel policy in Europe since 1 July, yet our Covid case rates are now significantly higher than many other EU countries such as Italy and Germany, who removed intra-EU travel restrictions in July and have successfully managed a return of economic activity with much lower Covid case rates than Ireland.
“NPHET’s Green List has clearly failed to prevent the recent surge in Covid cases in Ireland, and since Germany and the UK now have lower Covid case rates than Ireland, it is essential that these large economies are immediately added to Ireland’s Green List, or better still, Ireland’s failed Green List is abandoned altogether for flights to/from the EU and the UK.
“The Irish Govt should be challenging NPHET on its failure to deliver an effective test and tracing system in this country. As other EU countries introduced airport testing, NPHET are still filling in paper forms that are not followed up, and imposing a defective 14 day quarantine, which has destroyed inbound tourism to Ireland.
“When our schools return at the end of August, Ireland’s hotels and restaurants will be empty because of the absence of EU visitors caused by NPHET’s mismanagement of intra-EU travel since 1 July last.
“When the scientists and medical experts of most other EU countries supported the safe return of intra-EU air travel since 1 July last, where is the science that supports NPHET’s unique and isolationist Green List, which has failed to prevent a second wave of Covid cases here in Ireland?
“At a time when Ireland has just 14 Covid patients in our hospitals, why are our businesses being prevented from booking air travel to and from other EU countries - many with lower Covid case rates than Ireland - when citizens of these EU countries are travelling freely and without Ireland’s Green List restrictions.
“NPHET have spectacularly mismanaged this failed Green List. The Govt must now act to remove travel restrictions on business travel to/from Germany, the UK and these other EU countries where the Covid case rates are as similar or lower than Ireland.
“It is Government’s job to govern, to reopen our economy, to remove these failed quarantines, and introduce an effective and efficient test and tracing system so that Ireland’s schools and businesses can get back to work in September.”
