London : European airlines are weighing their mask requirements on flights to the US after a federal judge excluded Disease Control and Prevention’s mask mandate on mass transportation, including onboard aircraft.
Monday’s decision led US carriers including Delta Air Lines Inc and United Airlines Holdings Inc to drop their face-covering requirements on domestic flights and international flights where local rules do not require passengers to wear them.
The ruling stunned airlines and has alternately pleased and disappointed passengers. It has also divided European carriers on what they need on trans-Atlantic flights. Spokesmen for Air France and Deutsche Lufthansa AG said masks were still required on all their flights in line with French and German regulations.
British Airways, owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group SA and Dutch flag carrier KLM—which works in partnership with Air France—told customers that the requirement to wear masks onboard was dependent on restrictions in the arrival destination. KLM told passengers it still “strongly advises all passengers” to wear face masks on board.
Many European countries have already dropped the mask requirement. The UK was one of the first countries to drop all COVID-19 travel rules globally, including requiring the use of face coverings to board flights and in airport terminals. Sweden has also lifted its COVID-19 travel restrictions. Scandinavian airline SAS AB is sending out a message to remind passengers that masks are no longer required on most flights.
Videos circulated online late Monday of passengers in the US after flight crews were told that a mask—compulsory—was no longer required for most air travel for the better part of the past two years.
Not everyone was excited about the innings. Heidi Goodson, an assistant professor of mathematics at New York City University’s Brooklyn College, said she changed her return flight from Germany via United to one operated by Lufthansa so she could fly on an airline that still requires masks. . He had to pay extra to make the change.
“Many people don’t have this type of financial flexibility and therefore put their health at risk when unexpected policy changes are made,” she said.