End NPHET’s “North Korea” Travel Quarantine

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, today (Fri 11^th Sept) called on the Irish Government to commit to implementing the EU Commission’s coordinated plan for intra-EU air travel, and to lift the “North Korea” travel restrictions, which Ireland has suffered under NPHET’s mismanagement of the Green List since 1 July last.

NPHET – who masquerade as “experts”, but are in fact a group of Dept of Health Civil Servants – have terrified the Irish Government into imposing Europe’s tightest air travel restrictions since 1 July last, effectively preventing Irish citizens travelling to the UK, Germany, or many other EU States, all of whom have lower Covid case rates than Ireland. This failed Green List is the latest example of NPHET’s mismanagement coming on top of their failure to protect the nursing homes, meat factories, their delay in mandating face masks and their failure to implement an effective test and trace system in Ireland. Ireland’s aviation and tourism sectors are being devastated by this Dept of Health mismanagement and NPHET’s incompetence.

The EU Commission will next week roll out a coordinated approach to intra-EU air travel (see attached) for European citizens, restoring the freedom of movement subject to common sense and practical measures designed to protect citizens travelling between those EU countries with higher Covid case rates and inadequate testing regimes such as Ireland. These measures (which will be updated weekly by the ECDC) must be immediately adopted by Ireland, which will finally allow Irish citizens to resume air travel to/from major markets the UK, Germany, Sweden and other EU States who now have significantly lower Covid case rates than Ireland.

A Ryanair Spokesperson said:

“After months of NPHET mismanagement of face masks, and travel restrictions, these EU Commission proposals are proportionate, sensible and reflect the successful policies followed by EU States like Germany and Italy, who allowed safe intra-EU air travel since 1 July, but have maintained significantly lower Covid case rates than NPHET has managed here in Ireland, despite restricting air travel like North Korea.

Ryanair calls on the Irish Government to ignore the mismanagement by NPHET of international air travel and immediately adopt these sensible and practical EU Commission proposals. NPHET have mismanaged the reopening of the Irish economy, and they have spectacularly mismanaged Ireland’s Green List, which has continued to lock down Ireland – like North Korea – since July when many other EU States have allowed safe intra-EU air travel, but maintained significantly lower Covid case rates than Ireland, due to their superior test and tracing systems.

It is time to end NPHET’s mismanagement and for Micheál Martin’s Government to lead the resumption of EU air travel, and promote some modest recovery of the Irish economy this winter.”