Mask requirement on the plane: Which airlines no longer apply and who still adheres to it
Created: 06/27/2022, 09:53
By: Franziska Kaindl
Some airlines no longer make masks compulsory.
© MiS/Imago
Sitting on a plane without a mask – that sounds unusual to many.
For some airlines in Europe, however, the mask requirement has already been dropped.
The face mask has been our constant companion for almost two years.
It is all the more unusual when the mask requirement suddenly ceases to exist in some areas.
For example, the Federal Government’s Infection Protection Act only provides for a mask requirement in local public transport and in health facilities.
But what about airplanes?
Lufthansa, Eurowings & Co.: What applies to the mask requirement for German airlines?
The European Aviation Safety Agency EASA and the EU health authority ECDC have meanwhile withdrawn the recommendation to wear masks on airplanes and airports.
However, national regulations continue to take precedence - which is why
masks are compulsory on all domestic German routes and on flights that take off or land in Germany.
"In the new Infection Protection Act, the mask requirement in public transport and thus also in air traffic remains in place," said a
Eurowings
spokeswoman at the end of March, according to the
editorial network Germany (RND)
.
“Medical or FFP2 masks must therefore continue to be worn on board our flights.” The latter must be worn on flights to Austria, for example, according to the airline’s website.
A surgical mask is not sufficient here.
The airline
Tuifly
does the same.
Only those who eat meals or want to drink something on board are allowed to remove the mask for a short period of time, like Tuifly the
RND
communicated.
As long as there are no new requirements from the authorities, “the applicable rules will continue to be implemented on board,” the airline said a few weeks ago.
So far, however, the German Infection Protection Act has not been amended accordingly.
There, the nationwide mask requirement is set until September 23rd.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday (May 13) in Berlin that there was no plan to abolish the mask requirement for the time being.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing had previously spoken out in favor of ending this in buses, trains and planes.
However, the Ministry of Health under Karl Lauterbach has rejected this.
With up to 150 corona deaths per day, “there is no leeway to do without masks on public transport,” the minister said on Twitter.
At
Lufthansa
, however, they are taking a different approach: Passengers have less and less understanding of the mask requirement on airplanes - there are even
escalations between passengers and crews
- because the rule has been abolished in many other countries.
Therefore, in an internal risk assessment, the group came to the conclusion that enforcing the mask requirement is a greater security risk than allowing passengers without a mask, according to a report by
Der Spiegel
.
"Since safety is a top priority for Lufthansa, the company is adapting its processes," said a spokesman.
It should therefore continue to be pointed out that masks are compulsory, but the crew no longer has to strictly enforce them.
Many European airlines are relaxing the mask requirement
There is currently no end in sight for the mask requirement in public transport in Germany.
But the situation is different in many other European countries.
Numerous British airlines have lifted their mask requirement for flights within Great Britain and Northern Ireland: "From March 16, our mask rules will change," informed
British Airways
on Twitter.
If there is no mask requirement in the destination country, it is optional on board, they say.
However, travelers should respect it if other passengers want to continue wearing a face mask.
The airlines
Jet2
,
Virgin Atlantic
and the
British Tui Airways
handle it in a similar way.
also read
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Easyjet
also
overturned the mask requirement on some routes on March 27
–
these now include flights between
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Gibraltar, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Iceland and Poland, Israel, Jersey , Croatia, the Maltese Islands, Scotland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Hungary
.
On routes from, to or within Germany, Italy and Austria, passengers aged six and over must wear an FFP2 mask.
Ryanair
announced something similar: During the flight and in the airport, a surgical mask must be worn – for routes from, to or within Germany, Italy or Austria, an FFP2 mask is mandatory.
However, the Scandinavian airlines SAS, Norwegian, Flyr and Widerøe
were pioneers in abolishing the mask requirement
: Passengers here have not had to wear a face mask since autumn last year - at least on Scandinavian routes.
In the USA, too, there is currently no nationwide mask requirement on public transport.
After a federal judge declared the Corona regulation invalid, US airlines suspended the use of masks on board their planes for passengers and employees, as reported by the
aero.de
portal .
(fk)