European Union Drops Airline Mask Rules, But…

European Union Drops Airline Mask Rules, But…

71

As of today, the European Union’s recommendations have changed around the wearing of face masks on planes. However, the implications are limited.

European Union drops air travel mask guidance

As we first learned last week, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have issued an update when it comes to the wearing of face masks on flights. As of today (Monday, May 16, 2022), the European Union has dropped its recommendation for airlines to require passengers to wear face masks.

It’s worth noting that the European Union only makes recommendations, and countries are still allowed to make their own rules. However, very broadly the European Union recommendations are often followed. As it’s described, this decision is based on the high levels of vaccination and natural immunity in Europe, accompanied by the growing number of European countries lifting restrictions.

It’s acknowledged that masks will still likely be required to some destinations, including those where they’re required for public transport. Furthermore, it’s stated that masks still provide some of the best protection against the transmission of COVID-19, and those who are vulnerable or concerned should continue to wear masks that offer a high level of protection.

As the Executive Director of the EASA, Patrick Ky, describes this development:

“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. For passengers and air crews, this is a big step forward in the normalisation of air travel. Passengers should however behave responsibly and respect the choices of others around them. And a passenger who is coughing and sneezing should strongly consider wearing a face mask, for the reassurance of those seated nearby.”  

This update comes just weeks after the federal transportation mask mandate ended in the United States due to the ruling of a Florida judge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked the Department of Justice to challenge this ruling, so we’ll see what comes of this.

The European Union has dropped its mask recommendation for air travel

Are countries following the EU’s recommendations?

As mentioned above, the European Union is only changing its recommendations, and it’s up to individual countries to then decide on their own rules. Prior to this update, the state of things was pretty complicated:

  • We saw some countries in the European Union already lift face mask requirements for public transportation, and in turn, we saw several European Union airlines lift face mask requirements
  • We saw some European Union countries not lift face mask requirements for airlines, but nonetheless airlines decided to no longer enforce the rules
  • Whether or not a mask is required is based on a combination of the airline policy, as well as the policies of the countries you’re traveling to & from, and those policies may differ whether you’re on the plane or at the airport

It’s now May 16, so this new recommendation is in place. What does that mean for the state of masking on planes in Europe? According to BBC, of the 27 European Union countries, the following are continuing to require that passengers wear masks:

  • Austria
  • Cyprus
  • Estonia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Portugal
  • Spain

As you can see, that’s nearly half of the European Union countries. Those that aren’t requiring masks overwhelmingly also didn’t require them prior to this change.

Of course I imagine this will evolve significantly over time. And as mentioned above, the situation in the Netherlands is confusing, since technically the country requires masking on planes, but KLM isn’t choosing to enforce that policy.

Germany requires masks on planes, but not at airports

Bottom line

The European Union has changed its recommendations around the wearing of face masks on planes. As of today (May 16), it’s no longer recommended that countries and airlines require air travelers to wear masks.

However, it’s up to individual countries and airlines to decide on their own policies, and it doesn’t look like we’re seeing many countries change their stances initially.

Are you surprised to see many countries not following the EU’s guidance?

Conversations (71)
The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.
Type your response here.

If you'd like to participate in the discussion, please adhere to our commenting guidelines. Anyone can comment, and your email address will not be published. Register to save your unique username and earn special OMAAT reputation perks!

  1. BigTee New Member

    Funny. I'm agnostic on the mask thing. When I flew QR to KTM 2022, QR required me to wear a mask on QR and at DOH. Of course, KTM city, like many Asian cities, has such dirty and polluted streets (from rough roads and motorbikes) that everyone wears masks in the street, the same as before Covid. So much for a mask-free holiday!

    Anyone who has flown to Asia on business knows what I'm talking...

    Funny. I'm agnostic on the mask thing. When I flew QR to KTM 2022, QR required me to wear a mask on QR and at DOH. Of course, KTM city, like many Asian cities, has such dirty and polluted streets (from rough roads and motorbikes) that everyone wears masks in the street, the same as before Covid. So much for a mask-free holiday!

    Anyone who has flown to Asia on business knows what I'm talking about.

    I mean, I transited through Europe all through covid lockdowns. AF was so funny, telling me that my N95 did not comply and that I had to replace it with the ubiquitous flimsy blue and white mask, of which they had an ample complimentary supply.

  2. Darren C Diamond

    @3 million commercial passengers fly every day in and out of US airports. Covid Chicken Littles threatened millions of deaths would come because brave Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle dropped the stupid mask mandate. Many European governments led the way in dropping the mask mandate, and that motivated me to buy one trip to Europe for June and another for July.

    Months ago, the US dropped the testing requirement for the millions of people who legally...

    @3 million commercial passengers fly every day in and out of US airports. Covid Chicken Littles threatened millions of deaths would come because brave Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle dropped the stupid mask mandate. Many European governments led the way in dropping the mask mandate, and that motivated me to buy one trip to Europe for June and another for July.

    Months ago, the US dropped the testing requirement for the millions of people who legally enter the US by land or ferry, and has never required the millions of illegal aliens provide test results when entering.

    The US should stop the corrupt, useless, and selectively enforced testing requirement that only airline passengers provide fake negative Covid results.

    Airline travel, before, during, and after Covid, is safer than any other form of travel and the Zombie Apocalypse prophesied by mask addicts has been shown to be ridiculous.

    1 more reply
  3. Samo Guest

    The list is wrong. It comes from Ryanair's press release where they mention which countries require masks on public transportation (and Ryanair CHOSE to require masks on those flights). However, not all of these countries actually require masks on foreign planes. For example, SAS, Finnair and Norwegian don't require masks on flights to many of these destinations (SAS serves quite a few of them, but only requires masks on Italian flights).

    And even then, the...

    The list is wrong. It comes from Ryanair's press release where they mention which countries require masks on public transportation (and Ryanair CHOSE to require masks on those flights). However, not all of these countries actually require masks on foreign planes. For example, SAS, Finnair and Norwegian don't require masks on flights to many of these destinations (SAS serves quite a few of them, but only requires masks on Italian flights).

    And even then, the list is still wrong since Estonia dropped their mask mandate long time ago (I've been there lately and masks were pretty much nonexistent).

  4. Steve Guest

    Just visited Spain - liberal guy who liens to think of others and I’ll probably get flack for this. When I visited a clinic for testing back to the states, the physician and I casually talked. He said that Spain in now approaching this as if everyone is vaccinated (the majority of their citizens have been). Yes, people will get sick but they they should relatively protected by the vaccine for serous harm. They feel...

    Just visited Spain - liberal guy who liens to think of others and I’ll probably get flack for this. When I visited a clinic for testing back to the states, the physician and I casually talked. He said that Spain in now approaching this as if everyone is vaccinated (the majority of their citizens have been). Yes, people will get sick but they they should relatively protected by the vaccine for serous harm. They feel the need to move forward and see this more as an endemic. I’m not a doctor and cannot vouch for this but at some point we do need move forward. When will the risk ever be negligible enough to not mask to protect others (Not asking, just curious). Also, Spainish citizens seem to be generally healthy with less issues than found in the US due to cultural norms. Ie less sugars, less preservatives, more waking / movement ps,.. I only indicated the liberal part as people have seem to have made the masking issue a political issue. Call me a Democratic a*hole I guess who no longer wears a mask in public.

  5. DRennman Guest

    Confusing mis-mash of rules and enforcements. For our last trip on Air France, yes, masks were required on the flight but not in CDG or Orly. Required on the flight when flying into Spain but not in the Palma or Barcelona airports.

  6. AC Guest

    Big deal - I expect most in the list to drop requirements in a few days and most likely won’t enforce it.

    I’m in JFK right now which is one of the few US airports “requiring” masks. I flew in on a flight with limited number of people wearing masks. No announcement that you had to wear masks in JFK so I decided not to and see what happens. Probably half the people (including...

    Big deal - I expect most in the list to drop requirements in a few days and most likely won’t enforce it.

    I’m in JFK right now which is one of the few US airports “requiring” masks. I flew in on a flight with limited number of people wearing masks. No announcement that you had to wear masks in JFK so I decided not to and see what happens. Probably half the people (including staff, pilots and flight attendants) are not wearing masks and I went through security (had to change terminals) without one.

    Frankly I am comfortable with whatever happens to me and don’t feel it is my job to worry about others. Some of you self righteous virtual signalers will likely be upset but I do what I prefer and am not a sheep following the herd. Don’t get me wrong I wore a mask prior to US airlines (and most airports) dropping them but that time has passed. Most masks are of limited value and there are vaccines, therapeutics and widespread infection that mean risks are very low. If you are at risk stay at home - not my job to protect you.

  7. Stefan Guest

    Lufthansa is garbage and Germany has become a basket case so what did you expect? Dreadful.

  8. Icarus Guest

    Ben, masks are still mandatory at schiphol airport, on KLM and it’s enforced. They are also mandatory on Air France and Lufthansa.
    So if you fly Delta and connecting via Paris Frankfurt or Amsterdam it’s mandatory to wear a mask as soon as you leave the aircraft and maybe at your final destination depending on local regulations ( eg London you can remove it on exiting the aircraft).

    5 more replies
  9. Luke Guest

    Have a trip in couple weeks that includes flight from EWR to London on United, London to Amsterdam on British Airways, Amsterdam to Paris on a Thalys train, and Paris to JFK on Air France. I'm assuming masks wont be required on the United, Air France flights as well as the Thalys train but may be forced on the British Airways flight to Amsterdam because Netherlands government still imposes it (which KLM apparantly declines to enforce)

  10. Daniel B. Guest

    Yesterday we flew on Finnair's HEL-DFW with the brand new seat (very spacious, we loved it).
    But the interesting thing was no one asked us about the negative COVID test (not during check in, not at the gate). They asked at the gate whether we completed the Finnair-issued attestation form, and they just collected it from everyone but didn't look at it at all - just collected it.
    This was the first time...

    Yesterday we flew on Finnair's HEL-DFW with the brand new seat (very spacious, we loved it).
    But the interesting thing was no one asked us about the negative COVID test (not during check in, not at the gate). They asked at the gate whether we completed the Finnair-issued attestation form, and they just collected it from everyone but didn't look at it at all - just collected it.
    This was the first time during the pandemic that they did not ask for the negative COVID test during check in. Weird.

    1 more reply
  11. Donna Diamond

    Public health officials have been wrong about so much during this COVID fiasco that it’s hard to believe anything that they say. Requiring vaccinated, patriotic Americans to test negative in order to enter the country after air travel abroad but NOT requiring testing for domestic air travel is the height of hypocrisy. Sick people have been traveling by air long before the pandemic and even during COVID in spite of all these measures. Time to...

    Public health officials have been wrong about so much during this COVID fiasco that it’s hard to believe anything that they say. Requiring vaccinated, patriotic Americans to test negative in order to enter the country after air travel abroad but NOT requiring testing for domestic air travel is the height of hypocrisy. Sick people have been traveling by air long before the pandemic and even during COVID in spite of all these measures. Time to rip off the bandaid and move on.

    1 more reply
  12. Ed Guest

    For those of you that care about the most vulnerable, why weren't the majority of you consistently wearing a mask prior to COVID? Influenze is deadly...why weren't you masking up then?

    1 more reply
  13. stogieguy7 Diamond

    Masks are ineffective when not of the proper type and when not worn as per specific protocols. In other words: cloth masks are nothing more than virtue ("I CARE") signaling, N95 masks are not worn or used properly by a vast majority of those you see with them. They were never designed to be worn for hours in public, they were designed for use in a medical/hospital/clinic/laboratory setting. They were also designed for single use,...

    Masks are ineffective when not of the proper type and when not worn as per specific protocols. In other words: cloth masks are nothing more than virtue ("I CARE") signaling, N95 masks are not worn or used properly by a vast majority of those you see with them. They were never designed to be worn for hours in public, they were designed for use in a medical/hospital/clinic/laboratory setting. They were also designed for single use, after which they are discarded and replaced. Not for being tossed into your carry on for use on your next flight in 2 weeks.

    Those of you pontificating about how masks are sooooo thoughtful - and how those who oppose their use are so selfish - clearly don't understand sh^t about how respiratory protection works.

  14. Nige Guest

    Every time I see someone still wearing a silly mask, I want to nudge them on the shoulder and say, “Nobody cares who you voted for”.

    3 more replies
  15. Textuality Gold

    Just flew from The Netherlands... if they're requiring people mask up on planes, they're doing a very strange job of it.

    Crew and 99% of the passengers unmasked on both in / out of Schiphol this weekend.

    1 more reply
  16. Gary Hal Hohenstein Guest

    Now we'll see if that sh*t airline, Lufthansa, still requires masks or not. I don't fly with them until the mask nonsense stops.

    1 more reply
  17. derek Guest

    There should be no requirement to wear clothes on planes, just like no requirement to wear masks.

    2 more replies
  18. Max Guest

    You have a link to Swiss in the sentence that several european union airlines have already lifted face mask mandates. Switzerland is not part of the European Union.

  19. Alex Guest

    “I’m one of the 3% of Americans who are immunocompromised: Please consider wearing a mask“

    “ After being vaccinated and boosted, and receiving an extra medication because I don’t have antibodies despite all that,”

    “ for me and for the other 3% of your fellow Americans: Please do get tested and wear a mask if you are sick. And, if you fly, please consider wearing a mask even without the mandate, because the odds are,...

    “I’m one of the 3% of Americans who are immunocompromised: Please consider wearing a mask“

    “ After being vaccinated and boosted, and receiving an extra medication because I don’t have antibodies despite all that,”

    “ for me and for the other 3% of your fellow Americans: Please do get tested and wear a mask if you are sick. And, if you fly, please consider wearing a mask even without the mandate, because the odds are, one of us is on your plane, and we want to live both through that flight and after it.”

    https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/m-one-3-americans-immunocompromised-120017329.html

    6 more replies
  20. Samo Guest

    Complete non-event. It was just a recommendation and no one cared. Half of Europe got rid of masks already and the rest will get rid of them whenever they feel like it. This doesn't change anything.

    1 more reply
  21. Alex Guest

    “I’m Still Wearing My N95 Mask Because I Care About Society’s Most Vulnerable”

    “At this point, a fundamental shift is required that posits public good, care for others, reduction of community spread, and future pandemic preparedness. We need to use both public-health mitigation strategies—like routinely wearing effective masks—and clinical interventions, like antivirals, hospitalization, and critical care, to minimize community spread and to protect as many people as possible.“

    Read the article here:
    https://time.com/6174014/still-wearing-n95-mask/

    “I’m Still Wearing My N95 Mask Because I Care About Society’s Most Vulnerable”

    “At this point, a fundamental shift is required that posits public good, care for others, reduction of community spread, and future pandemic preparedness. We need to use both public-health mitigation strategies—like routinely wearing effective masks—and clinical interventions, like antivirals, hospitalization, and critical care, to minimize community spread and to protect as many people as possible.“

    Read the article here:
    https://time.com/6174014/still-wearing-n95-mask/

    3 more replies
  22. GroeneMichel Gold

    Fi-na-lly... The world is moving on!

  23. Joe Chivas Guest

    Lufthansa should drop the mask requirement who all passengers who don't look visibly Jewish.

  24. Luke Guest

    Also trying to find information if the lifting of masks is only for flights or if its also for other public transportation including trains and buses. If its only on planes I might consider booking flights instead of train for traveling between EU countries like Amsterdam -> Paris hehe.

    2 more replies
  25. AA70 Diamond

    Any idea what the implications of this would be when flying from a mask required country such as Canada to the EU on an EU registered airline?

    2 more replies
  26. Luke Guest

    Wonder if Air France will drop their rules too which have been quite strict and not even accepting regular cloth masks. For this reason I had booked for next month to fly from CDG -> LHR -> JFK on British Airways in business class over nonstop CDG -> JFK on Air France because of mask rules, even with the high fees BA charges!

    1. Bob Guest

      President Macron of France (like Trump used to say) has just announced that in France.

      I guess Air France is not going to play anything against what the law says in France from next Monday.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Not Lucky Guest

Good luck. I'm in this camp. I travel, I meet people, I go to conferences, I'm sometimes in large groups. Because of that, I N95 when I'm around other people so that I'm not the root cause of the problem. Doesn't hurt me, and does help others. I test before and after every flight and while that's far from a perfect science, it helps reduce needless risk. I wish more people would think this way, but the reality is that we are mostly about our own "freedom" and others be damned. At least on some issues, on other issues we're against "freedom", but lets leave that for another day. If people simply used an N95 in crowded (esp. indoor) situations, the world would be better off. Of course, if everyone just vaxxed and boosted, and had done so quickly, we probably wouldn't have to even think about masks to anywhere near this extent (in countries that had vaccine access). But that's the society we live in.

6
Not Lucky Guest

'Murica! Where we think it's a dumb idea to take any responsibility for other people. You can feel free to sit next to me if you have a deadly communicable disease because it's MY problem to take care of myself, but I also have the right to shoot you dead if you walk on my lawn. Bizarrely though, despite having just said that everyone's life is their own responsibility and society has no obligation and government should not interfere, for some reason it's important for government to mandate that you also must give birth to your baby because it's a life. But no you don't get insurance in case you miscarry, because it's not a life I guess? And no benefits or child tax credit either. So confusing. Granted I'm evil too, because I have zero sympathy for those who didn't vax and boost and it is ridiculous that my tax dollars go to helping them.

5
Nige Guest

Every time I see someone still wearing a silly mask, I want to nudge them on the shoulder and say, “Nobody cares who you voted for”.

4
Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder
5,527,136 Miles Traveled

39,914,500 Words Written

42,354 Posts Published