EU-wide mask rules for flights, airports eased from Monday

As the pandemic eases across Europe, an EU-wide mask requirement for flights and airports will be withdrawn starting next week, according to the bloc’s aviation safety body.

According to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), airlines will still be able to require passengers and personnel to cover their faces and noses under the new standards produced by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

“From next week, face masks will no longer need to be mandatory in air travel in all cases, broadly aligning with the changing requirements of national authorities across Europe for public transport,” said EASA executive director Patrick Ky in a statement.

“For passengers and aircrews, this is a big step forward in the normalization of air travel.”

EASA said after Monday, “rules for masks, in particular, will continue to vary by airline beyond that date”.

It stated that “flights to or from a destination where mask-wearing is still required on public transport should continue to encourage mask-wearing”.

Vulnerable passengers with compromised health “should continue to wear a face mask regardless of the rules”, it added.

The EASA said passengers were also encouraged to observe social distancing at the airport but that operators should adopt a “pragmatic approach”, meaning avoiding measures that would “lead to a bottleneck in another location in the passenger journey”.

The Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the new guidance for the EU but acknowledged the picture was more complex in an international context.

“Although the European protocol comes into effect next week, there is no globally consistent approach to mask-wearing on board aircraft,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director-general, in a statement.

“Airlines must comply with the regulations applicable to the routes they are operating. The aircraft crew will know what rules apply and it is critical that passengers follow their instructions.”

He went on to say that the IATA requested all passengers to “respect other people’s decision to wear masks voluntarily even if it is not a requirement.”

Despite rising fuel prices, the crisis in Ukraine, and inflation, the European aviation sector predicts a recovery to pre-pandemic traffic levels this summer.