The British government has told airlines it will introduce a 14-day quarantine period for most people arriving from abroad to try to avoid a second peak of the coronavirus outbreak, an association representing the airlines said on Saturday.

The death toll from coronavirus in Britain has risen to 31,587, an increase of 346 in a 24-hour period, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said at the government's daily news briefing.

Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, EasyJet and other UK carriers, said the move required "a credible exit plan" and should be reviewed weekly. Airport operators said it could have a "devastating" impact on the aviation industry and the broader economy.

Under measures that are likely to come into force in early June, travelers will have to provide the address at which they will self-isolate on arrival.

Johnson's Downing Street office and the interior ministry declined comment.

At the government's daily news briefing, transport minister Grant Shapps did not confirm the quarantine plans but said, with the UK infection rate down, "It clearly then makes sense to look at what happens at the borders."

Ireland has had similar measures in place since last month.

Airlines UK said it would seek assurances that the move is "led by the science" and that airlines would need support measures to ensure the aviation sector gets through the quarantine period.

It said the authorities would carry out spot checks and those found to be breaking the rules would face fines or deportation.

A major U.S. airline trade group on Saturday said it backed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking the temperatures of passengers and customer-facing employees during the coronavirus pandemic to help protect the U.S. public and reduce the transmission of the virus.

The U.S. has now confirmed over 1.3 million COVID-19 cases. To date, at least 78,795 individuals in the U.S. have died, upon the latest data by Johns Hopkins.

Airlines for America, which represents the largest U.S. airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, said the checks "will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees. Temperature checks also will provide additional public confidence that is critical to relaunching air travel and our nation's economy."

A U.S. official said Saturday no decision has been made on whether to mandate the checks, but said the issue is the subject of extensive talks among government agencies and with U.S. airlines and added a decision could potentially be made as early as next week.

One possible route would be for a pilot project or to initially begin temperature checks at the largest U.S. airports. Questions remain about what the government would do if someone had a high temperature and was turned away from a flight.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske told employees during a town hall meeting Wednesday that no decision had been made regarding possible temperature checks of passengers at airports and that questions remained about where such checks might take place and which agency might perform them.

Frontier Airlines said on Thursday it would begin temperature screenings for all passengers and crew members on June 1 and bar anyone with a temperature at or exceeding 38 degrees Celsius.

The move, the first among major U.S. airlines, followed the industry mandating facial coverings for all passengers and heightened cleaning procedures to address coronavirus concerns.

(With input from agencies)