Facemaskgate: BA isn’t sure which countries require one, so until they work it out ….

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• Wallaj4 says:

  18 Mar18 March 10:30

  Flew to Nice Wednesday , back this morning . Face masks required on boarding the aircraft

• John T says:

  18 Mar18 March 11:07

  What an absolute mess.

• GS says:

  18 Mar18 March 11:09

  I flew back from the States (Phoenix) to Heathrow on Wednesday night/Thursday morning and face masks were required.

  • jjoohhnn says:

    18 Mar18 March 11:32

    This is US law currently.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      18 Mar18 March 12:17

      US law has no jurisdiction especially once it’s out of US airspace (even when it comes to offences in airspace not wearing a face mask mandates isnt serious enough for them to fall under the Montreal Protocol)

      On the ground it’s the law of the country you are in that matters.

      In flight it’s the law of the country where the aircraft is registered OR destination country to take jurisdiction in the event of incidents affecting air safety (including hijack or causing injury to another passenger). So, for example, you would not be charged upon landing in a foreign country for under-age drinking on board, but you would for a serious offence.

      Feel like BA are making this far too complicated

      • Joe says:

        18 Mar18 March 13:14

        But BA aren’t going to risk upsetting the US, even if that is correct.

• cjguk says:

  18 Mar18 March 11:22

  Just landed at Heathrow on BA499 from Lisbon, everyone had masks on but not a single announcement was made

• Andrew says:

  18 Mar18 March 11:32

  The messaging could be as straightforward as: “As a courtesy to other passengers, please continue to wear a mask, whether or not it is a legal requirement.”

  It is extraordinary that such a simple step, like wearing a seatbelt or not smoking, has become such an issue of contention.

  It is not ideal, but neither is catching a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease.

  • Joe says:

    18 Mar18 March 12:19

    So highly infectious that you are almost guaranteed to get it this year. So utterly pointless to try and act like King Canute. Its nothing like a seatbelt.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Mar18 March 12:19

    It’s absolutely nothing like a seatbelt or not smoking.

  • ChrisC says:

    18 Mar18 March 12:36

    Some people don’t know the meaning of the word ‘courtesy’ and will spout about their rights but ignore their responsibilities.

    • Joe says:

      18 Mar18 March 13:16

      I wore a mask without complaints and by choice before vaccination, I wore it without complaining too much after vaccination, and before omicron.

      When omicron came, it became apparent that it was just something to get through. Now I’ve had it, and am at no risk of catching it or spreading it. It is not irresponsible to not wear a mask. Wearing one frankly shows you have poor capability of assessing risk. That said, be my guest.

  • StanTheMan says:

    18 Mar18 March 13:00

    As a courtesy can we also then ban anyone who smells, eats noisily, snores, talks too loudly, wears open toed sandals or says “haitch” instead of “aitch”.
    I’m sure there are many others that people would like stopped out of “courtesy” to others.

    • Joe says:

      18 Mar18 March 13:37

      The one thing that is highly discourteous is trying to force people around you to see the world in your (clearly wrong) viewpoint.

  • J says:

    18 Mar18 March 18:39

    May just be a simple step for you, but for many, wearing a mask (or seeing others wear a mask) it is a barrier to flying, shopping, and, for a few, even stepping outside their house. Try to have a little empathy – not everyone is the same.

• Ross Parker says:

  18 Mar18 March 11:34

  My lay understanding of aviation law & the Tokyo convention is that once the aircraft has begun to move towards its destination, under its own power (i.e. after pushback, as it begins to taxi) then it is under the jurisdiction of the country in which the aircraft is registered. In cases where you are flying to a jurisdiction with a mask mandate, the airline may choose to mandate mask-wearing just so the passengers are not refused. But what is BA’s rationale for enforcing mask-wearing on flights *to* LHR in UK-registered planes (as they are doing)?

  • VerdantBacon says:

    18 Mar18 March 12:03

    The rationale is they can’t be bothered to work it out

  • TGLoyalty says:

    18 Mar18 March 12:19

    https://simpleflying.com/which-countrys-laws-are-enforced-during-international-flights/ Is a nice intro guide on which laws count and when.

• Nick says:

  18 Mar18 March 12:18

  So what appears to have happened is that as BA is run on a shoestring, they realised they just don’t have the resource to keep track of rules on a route-by-route basis (which admittedly do change frequently), plus ensure that the right message is applied with each gate boarding team or crew. So with the high risk of being fined or otherwise penalised in some destinations if they get it wrong, they’ve gone back to mandates everywhere instead. Unless someone is confident enough of the rules to overrule it on a case-by-case basis. So yes, an ‘entirely avoidable shambles’ is the best way of putting it.

  The problem BA has compared to cheapo airlines (such as tui/jet2) is that the latter are almost entirely Brits-abroad types, whereas BA carries more government and well-connected people… who are far more likely to report or follow up on incorrect activity. As they’re completely risk-averse, this has a bearing on the front line decisions they make.

  • CatchFlightsNotFeelings says:

    18 Mar18 March 12:52

    If they can keep track of all the testing requirements then they keep track of the mask requirements. It’s not that hard.

    • John says:

      18 Mar18 March 13:32

      They can’t keep track of the testing requirements

      • CatchFlightsNotFeelings says:

        18 Mar18 March 18:32

        This is true!

• BrianN says:

  18 Mar18 March 14:29

  Any news or whisperings at all of when usa may remove the covid test entry requirement? Thanks

  • Ben says:

    18 Mar18 March 16:47

    The mask mandate for airports and flights in the USA is due to expire on the 18th April. So perhaps then?

    Seems likely given their northern neighbour Canada is dropping the test requirement 1st April.

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