European Union Will Drop Its Mask Mandate for Travel Next Week
byDaniel McCarthy/
The EU is set to match the U.S. in dropping its facemask mandate.
The EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) made the announcement on Tuesday, dropping the recommendation of mandatory mask-wearing in airports and on board flights starting on May 16, 2022.
While the agencies said that wearing a mask “is still one of the best protections against the transmission of COVID-19,” it will no longer push for the practice to be a requirement during travel.
“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,” said EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky.
“对于乘客和机组人员来说,这是航空旅行正常化的一大步。但是,乘客应以负责任的方式行事,并尊重周围其他人的选择。咳嗽和打喷嚏的乘客应该强烈考虑戴上口罩,以使坐在附近的人放心。”
尤其是规则面具,将继续vary by airline beyond that date because of other entry rules, including flights to a destination outside of the EU where mask-wearing is still required.
The move by the EU matches the recent change by the U.S. last month whenits requirement to wear masks in airports and on flights was dropped after a ruling from a federal judge。美国的旅游行业主要看到了面具授权的扩展以及持续的入站测试规则,这是对其恢复的重大阻碍。美国旅行协会和美国旅行顾问协会(ASTA)已有both continued to push for both of those rules to be lifted。
In other countries, including Canada, masking is still required for the entire duration of a flight arriving at or leaving from a local airport.