The UK pub and restaurant industries have largely rejected the idea of vaccine checks at the door after the government floated it as a possible option to help to reopen the hospitality sector.

The government is considering letting pubs relax social distancing rules if they check customers’ Covid status, and Boris Johnson said landlords should be allowed to set their own terms of entry.

However, UKHospitality, which represents restaurants and bars, and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), a lobby group, said on Thursday that the checks would be unworkable and would not be appropriate or necessary. Some MPs have already criticised the idea.

Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of Browns, Nicholson’s and Harvester pubs, restaurants and bars, said it had concerns about making checks at the door: “Vaccine passports or Covid certifications would pose numerous practical issues. We don’t currently have plans for our guests to provide proof of vaccination before entering one of our businesses.”

Pubs and restaurants in England are set to reopen outdoor areas on 12 April, followed by a further easing of restrictions in May.

Emma McClarkin, the BBPA’s chief executive, said: “We do not believe a requirement for pubs to check whether someone has had the vaccine would be appropriate or necessary.”

Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality’s chief executive, said mandatory vaccination certification would be “simply unworkable, would cause conflict between staff and customers and almost certainly result in breaches of equality rules.”

Some operators, however, said they had not entirely ruled out door checks.

JD Wetherspoon, the UK’s largest pub chain, said the company had not yet made a decision while Peter Marks, the chief executive of Deltic Group, a nightclub operator, told the BBC that younger customers may be more open to vaccine checks.

“For us, our demographic would probably accept it,” he said. “It’s a young customer base for us. They already walk around with ID such as driving licences and passports to get into a lot of our venues. I don’t think they’d have a problem with it.”

The Curzon cinema chain said it was considering offering some screenings reserved exclusively for customers who have proof of a Covid-19 vaccine – alongside screenings where no jab would be required.

Philip Knatchbull, the chief executive of the 21-strong Curzon chain, said giving customers a choice would avoid having to impose a blanket rule, which could trigger legal issues around discrimination.

“Personally I am not a supporter,” said Knatchbull. “It is extremely difficult to monitor and more importantly it would prejudice against the minority of people who don’t get a vaccine. We may get around that by having some screenings where people may need proof of vaccination and some that don’t.”

The UK cinema association said there was “widespread opposition” across the business to the idea that people might be required to show evidence of a vaccination or negative test before being allowed into a cinema.

Phil Clapp, the UKCA chief executive, said: “Even when the current vaccine rollout is complete, there will still be significant numbers of people who will not have been vaccinated. These include pregnant women, people with certain disabilities or underlying conditions and young people aged 18 and under. Making ‘proof’ of vaccination a condition of entry to a cinema will potentially introduce significant issues of discrimination under the equalities act 2010.”

Airlines meanwhile welcomed moves to speed up and coordinate digital Covid certificates – although they warned against talk of “vaccine passports” which implied unvaccinated people could be refused travel.

The A4E group of airlines – which includes easyJet, British Airways and Ryanair – welcomed moves in the European parliament to fast-track proposed “digital green certificates”, allowing travellers to upload details of vaccines, Covid tests or their recovery status.

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said it was “one of several tools that we can use to unlock Europe and facilitate safe travel in a coordinated way”.