EU Set to Drop Mask Mandate for Air Travel Next Week

EU Set to Drop Mask Mandate for Air Travel Next Week
Travelers wearing masks wait in line at an airport information desk at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport in France on March 12, 2020. (Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images)
Lorenz Duchamps
5/11/2022
Updated:
5/11/2022
The European Union will no longer require the wearing of masks at airports or onboard flights beginning on May 16, as the continent looks to ease CCP virus restrictions on passengers and crew members, authorities announced on May 11.

“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 Patrick Ky, executive director of the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

In a joint statement, EASA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) noted that rules regarding masks may continue to vary by airline beyond that date if they fly to or from destinations where the rules are different.

ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said cabin crews should remain cautious and inform passengers of any required measures in a timely manner, as rules can still vary in departure and destination locations.

Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, speaks at a press conference in Rome on Feb. 26, 2020. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, speaks at a press conference in Rome on Feb. 26, 2020. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)

“The importance of these measures should continue to be effectively communicated to passengers for their safety, and ECDC will continue to work with our colleagues at EASA to regularly assess and amend the recommendations as necessary,” Ammon said.

The mask mandate on planes and at airports in the EU has been in place for about two years and has led to conflicts between passengers and airlines across the continent.

Ky said travelers should respect the choices of others around them and behave responsibly, saying that if a passenger is “coughing and sneezing,” that person “should strongly consider wearing a face mask for the reassurance of those seated nearby.”

The two agencies said the health protocol update is a big step forward in the normalization of air travel across Europe, and it takes into account the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as a growing number of European countries lifting CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus restrictions, naturally acquired immunity, and vaccination levels.

“While mandatory mask-wearing in all situations is no longer recommended, it is important to be mindful that together with physical distancing and good hand hygiene, it is one of the best methods of reducing transmission,” Ammon said, noting that aircrew should avoid imposing distancing requirements on passengers because they “will very likely lead to a bottleneck ... especially if they are not required at national or regional level in other similar settings.”

The change comes about a month after a Florida judge struck down a similar mandate in the United States, saying that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask rule exceeded the agency’s statutory authority because its implementation violated administrative law.