The flying mask conundrum

This last week, The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued an update on the health safety measures for air travel, paving the way for a relaxation of the need to wear medical masks on board a flight, but noting that a face mask is still one of the best protective methods against the transmission of Covid-19.

The new recommendations came into effect on 16 May, however, it was still up to each country and airline to decide for themselves whether they wanted to follow the recommendation or not, leading to much confusion for passengers.

But while maskless flights are the new default for many, several EU countries are keeping them in place for the time being. Top holiday destinations like Italy, Spain, Germany and Greece are among the nations maintaining the rule, following the announcement by the EASA last week. However, as the EU begins to re-open, we can expect the situation to change.

As confusion lingered, Air Malta then clarified in a press statement that despite the EASA / ECDC announcements, face mask-wearing onboard flights is still determined by country-specific laws which might not necessarily be aligned with the European guidance. With regards to the local scenario, from 16 May, people travelling to Malta on European flights are no longer required to wear a mask on board.

"Face mask-wearing onboard flights is determined not only by the country of registration of the airline but also by the country of departure and the country of arrival," Air Malta said in a statement.

In its joint statement with the ECDC on 11 May, EASA clarified that national regulations override the EU-wide change. "Wearing face masks at airports and inflight should be aligned with national measures on wearing masks on public transport and transport hubs," they said, including on flights away from one of these countries.

Airlines have been told to encourage passengers to use masks on flights to or from destinations where mandatory mask-wearing on public transport is still enforced. They have also been advised to keep systems for collecting passenger locator information on standby in case they are needed in the future, for example, if a "new variant of concern" emerges.

Neighbouring Italy has confirmed that its mask mandate will remain in place until at least 15 June. It stipulates that more protective FF2 masks must be worn on planes and other forms of public transport rather than fabric or homemade ones.

So, in essence, don't throw away your mask just yet; carefully check ongoing rules, while the situation remains an ever-changing one on the road back to normality. Let's hope common sense prevails and those who feel unwell wear a mask to protect others around them.