The companies request a court examine the legality of the United Kingdom’s mandatory two-week quarantine for all travellers arriving in the country, Sky News reported.
The airlines argue that the rules, which went into effect on Monday, are far stricter than those in the rest of Europe and have a "devastating effect on British tourism and the wider economy."
The appeal from the three rival airlines requests that the UK revert to the rules introduced in March where only arrivals from high-risk countries were forced to self-isolate.
"This would be the most practical and effective solution and enables civil servants to focus on other, more significant issues arising from the pandemic while bringing the UK in line with much of Europe which is opening its borders mid-June," the airlines said in a joint statement.
The airlines made their intention to take legal action known in a letter made public last week which called the measures "unlawful."
Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group, said last week that his airline flew only 485 flights throughout all of May which is less than it flew in a day last year.
