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easyJet to drop face masks from Sunday – in the few destinations where it can

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easyJet has joined Jet2, Tui, Virgin Atlantic and (in theory, if not in practice) British Airways in dropping the requirement to wear a face mask when travelling.

The rule change will come into effect from Sunday 27th March, which is the first day of the Summer flying season.

Don’t get too excited though. easyJet’s lawyers have been combing through the rules and believe that only four international destinations (three if you exclude Gibraltar) actually allow masks to be removed during travel.

easyjet drops face masks

In a statement this morning, easyJet said:

“easyJet is really pleased [sic] to see the start of a return to truly restriction-free flying for UK consumers, following the welcome removal of all remaining UK travel restrictions last week.  

Following the removal of mandatory mask wearing in a number of countries, we have reviewed our mask policy onboard and have taken the decision that, from 27 March 2022, on flights where masks are no longer legally required at both ends of the route, we will not mandate customers and crew to wear masks onboard the flight. Any customers or crew who wish to continue wearing a mask will of course have their personal choice respected.

This means that on UK domestic flights including Jersey, excluding routes to and from Scotland, plus flights between the UK and Denmark, Gibraltar, Iceland and Hungary, customers and crew will no longer be required to wear masks. We aim to progressively remove the requirement on other international routes as and when both ends of the route has no legal requirement.

As a pan European airline operating between over 30 countries, we must continue to ensure that we and our customers follow the legal requirements of all the countries we fly to. This means when flying to or from countries where mask requirements remain in place, we will follow the relevant legal requirements. We urge European governments to have a coordinated approach on the removal of the requirement where possible, to make it easy and clear for customers. We will aim to provide clear information to customers, including while onboard, detailing the specific mask requirements on their flight.”

Jet2 was the first UK airline to remove the need to wear face masks. Tui quickly followed with Virgin Atlantic joining last week, albeit only for Caribbean flights for now. British Airways also announced the end of mask wearing, before pulling back.

You can see the official easyJet statement on its website here.

Comments (37)

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  • Bill says:

    If they’ve included Jersey, presumably IOM should be included in their UK domestic destinations

  • Genghis says:

    Why the sic in the quote? Looks right to me

  • Cranzle says:

    Noticed someone on social media today who is on an EasyJet flight and apparently they are insisting everyone wears a surgical mask. Any other type of mask is not being accepted

    • Rob says:

      That’s what the easyJet website says – I saw it when researching this piece.

    • NorthernLass says:

      We flew with EJ last month and no one cared what kind of masks were being worn – is it destination specific?

    • Ls says:

      Odd. Especially for those who are vulnerable and choose to wear an FFP3 mask for their own protection. Seems unreasonable to get them to change it for a worse one!

    • Mike says:

      Could it have been to or from France? Don’t the French insist on a surgical style mask with not other (better) type allowed?

      • Rob says:

        Germany / Austria need this. However the easyJet website implies all flights need them.

  • Amy C says:

    Surprised Egypt isn’t on the list. They don’t seem to give a toss from what I’ve read.

    • CatchFlightsNotFeelings says:

      Agreed. Two different groups of friends flew to Egypt on Tui in the last week and neither had masks on their flight as a requirement.

  • NorthernLass says:

    I am still curious as to how this could possibly be enforced on flights back to the UK. Someone posted the other day that airlines are subject to the laws of the country where they are registered once they depart – what is the situation with EJ?

    • NorthernLass says:

      *As in legally enforced, which is not the same as it being airline policy.

    • Colin MacKinnon says:

      Quite a few Easyjet airframes will be registered in the EU?

      I know Ryanair were being challenged – sorry, tickled – by the CAA because they only had something like two aircraft registered in the UK!

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Once you’re Off the ground it’s the country of registration

      • Nick says:

        easyJet registered lots of their aircraft in Austria after Brexit, to allow them to continue to operate flights wholly within the EU. Flights between the UK and EU are operated by a mix of the two registrations. Add in the part-owned Swiss AOC as well and you’ve got a royal mess, hence they’re keeping each route consistent.

        Ryanair got a slap on the wrist because they were planning to operate domestic UK flights with Irish-registered aircraft. They ‘fixed’ the issue by no longer selling UK domestics at all. There is no requirement for aircraft that operate between the UK and the EU to be UK-registered.

  • Marc says:

    Was on a BA domestic flight this morning, no masks, none of the staff were wearing a mask either.
    Also was a pleasure to walk through Heathrow sans mask.

  • Joe says:

    We in Switzerland should be free of face-nappies from 1 April unless something changes. Reasonably big tourist destination (although Basel airport is in France).

    • Jack says:

      wearing a cloth face mask is not a face nappy and is not a big deal

      • Mike says:

        @Jack Wearing a cloth mask is a waste of time, if you are wearing a mask, at least wear a proper one, ffp2/n95 or better.

        • John says:

          Agree on effectiveness, but it’s still not a big deal.

          • J says:

            Maybe not for you, but it is for some people. Have a little empathy – not everyone is the same.

      • mradey says:

        Wrong – on both counts.

  • Doommonger says:

    Abandoning face masks? I’ll keep wearing one on public transport, in hospitals and on flights.

    Hardly reported but 1165 poor souls died from Covid last week in the UK. Cases amongst all age groups in all parts of the UK increasing and R above 1. Don’t worry though, Boris has it all under control.

    Doomster

    • Paul says:

      Not reported because it’s not factual. Where are you getting the 1165 figure from? The government stats are way below this level and they include people dying with COVID as well as those dying from COVID

      • Doommonger says:

        I stand corrected.

        It was only 865 deaths last week, there was also a 100,000 increase in the number of cases last week. My source? the governments own website. Coronavirus.data.gov.uk

        Doomster.

    • Ryan says:

      How many died of covid and how many died with covid? The later will be what you hear, the former will be a fraction…

      • Jek says:

        Latest ONS data shows the fraction around 60%. 417 in England and Wales to be exact.

      • ThinkSquare says:

        And that fraction is about three-quarters.

      • Sam says:

        There is no need to dismiss the fact that covid is still having an noticeable impact in causing deaths. You don’t have to understate the impact of the virus to make to feel less guilty of not wearing a mask.

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