UK airlines drop face masks – But not for SA

Face masks on particular UK airlines are now optional to passengers, but there’s a catch.

Life is slowly going back to a “new normal” after London’s Heathrow airport officially ending its Covid-19 face mask mandate on Wednesday, 16 March.

This means that all incoming and outgoing passengers will no longer be required to cover up their faces within the airport. UK airlines British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have also eased their face mask rules, permitting passengers to go mask-free in flight.

However, passengers will still be required to cover up on flights if the destination has a mask mandate in place.

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UK AIRLINES DROP FACE MASK MANDATE – BUT NOT FOR SA

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic announced the news via a statement this week. BA’s chief operating officer, Jason Mahoney, said:

“As an international airline we fly to a large number of countries around the world, all of which have their own local restrictions and legal requirements.”

“Customers will only be required to wear a face covering on board our flights if the destination they’re travelling to requires it. For destinations where the wearing of a face covering is not mandated, our customers are able to make a personal choice.”

Virgin Atlantic COO Corneel Koster shared similar sentiments. He said:

“As we learn to live with Covid and with the legal requirement to wear a face mask now removed in England, we believe our customers should have the personal choice whether to wear a mask on board, on routes where international regulations around mask-wearing do not apply.”

“Across our network, we continue to adhere to all regulatory requirements both in the UK and in destination countries, recognising that mask requirements differ by market.”

However these rules would not apply to passengers en-route to SA, of which still has face masks requirements in place.

PASSENGERS REACT TO NEW NO MASKS RULE

The no face mask mandate has had mixed reactions from passengers around the world. Some flyers have praised the new rules as “how it should be”.

Others are hesitant about the health risks associated with no face masks…

By: Megan van den Heever