Which airlines no longer require the use of masks during the flight

Around the world, authorities have begun to relax some of the protocols related to the prevention of COVID-19, including provisions on the use of face masks.

In Europe, countries such as the United Kingdom, Iceland and Ireland are making decisions to abandon wearing masks, and several airlines have followed suit.

In the United States, however, the Transportation Security Administration decided to extend the federal mandate on the use of masks in transportation until at least April 18, exempting their use on airplanes, airports, buses and trains.

Below, the airlines that have eliminated their mask policies:

British Airways

British Airways currently allows passengers to travel without masks if the destination to which they are flying does not require them, while requiring the use of masks on flights to destinations where local restrictions cannot be “clarified”.

“For destinations where wearing an easy mask is not mandatory, passengers can make a personal decision, while we will kindly ask everyone to respect each other's preferences,” says the airline protocol.

easyJet

The British airline will eliminate mask requirements on its aircraft from March 27 onwards.

Its use will not be requested “on flights linking two destinations where they are not mandatory”. For easyJet, that includes most domestic flights in the UK, as well as flights between the UK and Denmark, Gibraltar, Iceland and Hungary.

Icelandair

The Iceland-based airline made face masks optional on some flights since March 23, weeks after the country lifted all travel restrictions related to COVID-19.

Masks remain mandatory on flights to and from Canada, the US, Germany, Paris and Zurich. Masks are optional on all other European flights, as well as on flights within Iceland and to and from Greenland.

jet2

British airline Jet2 became the first airline to eliminate face mask requirements in March. Passengers are no longer required to wear masks in England or Northern Ireland, although those over 6 years old travelling in Scotland must still wear them.

KLM

The Dutch government eliminated the requirement to wear face masks on public transport on March 23, but still requires the use of face masks on airplanes and airports.

However, the KLM airline claimed that it will not require their use on board and told local media outlet RTL News that it was “disappointing that the Dutch government is still considering wearing face masks during boarding and throughout the flight, while this has been abandoned everywhere in the Netherlands”.

SAS

The Swedish airline SAS has stopped requiring the use of masks on domestic flights and within Scandinavia, but it does request them for passengers 6 years and older on all other flights. For flights that require a mask, homemade or fabric are not accepted.

TUI

The British airline TUI allows travelers to dispense with the use of their masks. But it does order them for travellers over 12 years old who fly to or from Wales or Scotland. Passengers over 2 years old must also wear a mask when traveling to the US, and passengers over 6 years old must wear one if they travel to Italy.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic changed its mask policy on March 16, allowing passengers to choose whether to cover their faces, including on flights to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Masks must still be worn on airline flights to or from the US, as well as for passengers over 12 years of age on flights to and from Delhi, Islamabad, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lahore, Lagos, Mumbai, Shanghai and Tel Aviv.

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