The European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced earlier this week that face masks would no longer be mandatory for air passengers. However, not all countries in the EU are set to follow suit.

Faced with a sudden upturn in passenger numbers after two years of Covid restrictions, the aviation sector still has a number of hurdles ahead of the summer. With travellers flocking to airports to make the most of the lifted travel restrictions, the European Aviation Safety Agency recommended that masks no longer be mandatory for passengers on board flights and in airports from 16 May.

Although France has opted to follow this advice, other countries have opted to keep the mask mandate in place. On Wednesday, Hanno Kautz, a spokesperson for Germany's Ministry of Health, said masks would continue to be obligatory in all interior flights, as well as all flights departing and arriving in Germany.

LUXAIR STANCE

Although in Luxembourg, the mask mandate was lifted in Findel airport from mid-March, it has remained in place on board Luxair flights. Anti-Covid protection measures "will remain compulsory in Luxembourg pending at least partial harmonisation of the situation”, explained Gilles Feith, CEO of Luxair.

RTL

© RTL

The Luxair boss said the aviation sector would still find themselves in the same inextricable situation, as other countries had signalled they would not be following the EASA recommendation. Feith deplored the lack of coordination between countries in terms of Covid measures, and said Europe was "not functioning, as was often the case during the pandemic".

"National measures prevail and in the majority of the countries we serve, wearing a mask remains compulsory, including Germany, Portugal, Cape Verde, Spain, Egypt, Tunisia... At present there are only 13 countries where masks are no longer compulsory on board",  explained Feith.

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

Feith said in Italy, national legislation requires passengers to wear FFP2 masks. The same is recommended in Greece. He called this "nonsense" and said the situation was no longer justifiable, adding that there were still many destinations accepting unvaccinated tourists.

For months, Feith has campaigned to lift all flight restrictions as soon as possible, citing the high-frequency air exchange and efficient filtration systems onboard planes.

He said ideally passengers would be able to choose whether or not they wished to wear masks while flying. The EASA still maintains that masks remain one of the best protections against Covid transmission, especially for vulnerable people. Feith said Luxair's role should be to protect the vulnerable while leaving people free to wear masks or not. In a post on Twitter, the Luxair CEO said the airline would continue to evaluate the situation on a day-to-day basis, with a view to removing mask obligations when they deemed it safe and necessary.

Since the start of the pandemic, FFP2 masks have been free on request on Luxair flights. "That has not changed", confirmed Feith.