European regulators have taken new steps to mitigate anti-tourism measures for aviators. Thus, under the new rules, the mandatory requirement to wear a protective mask when flying to European countries will be abolished from May 16. However, airlines may require passengers to wear masks on some or all flights. Such recommendations have been published by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
“From next week, face masks should no longer be mandatory for air travel in all cases, which generally meets the changing requirements of national authorities across Europe for public transport,” said EASA Executive Director Patrick Key.
According to him, the recent decision is a big step forward in the normalization of air traffic for both travelers and flight crew. However, he stressed that passengers must behave responsibly and respect the choices of other people around them. Passengers who cough and sneeze should wear a mask “to soothe those sitting nearby.”
In this regard, ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said that the development and continuous updating of the Aviation Safety Protocol in the light of the COVID-19 situation has provided a better understanding of the risk of transmission and new strains. “Although the risks remain, we see that non-drug interventions and vaccines have allowed our lives to return to normal,” she said.
A month earlier, other European countries had set out to lift most of the restrictions imposed on the threat of coronavirus and its new strains to facilitate travel and help the tourism and aviation sectors, in particular to compensate for the damage caused by entry bans. Currently, three airlines in Europe have abolished the requirement to wear a protective mask. These are EasyJet, Jet2, Norwegian and British Airways. Recently, several American airlines also announced the abolition of the mandatory requirement to wear a face mask.