The European Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced on Tuesday that will withdraw the recommendation that masks are mandatory on flights and airports as part of anticovid measures.
The update of the Joint Aviation Health Security Protocol takes into account the current situation in relation to the pandemic, in particular the levels of vaccination and naturally acquired immunity, the organizations said in a statement.
In view of this, it is possible begin to relax restrictionss in force with regard to air traffic, which will help to alleviate the burden they place on the sector.
“Starting next week, face masks will no longer have to be mandatory on air travel in all cases, in line with changing public transport requirements from national authorities across Europe,” said the CEO. of EASA, Patrick Ky.
He added that it is a “big step” towards “normalization” for passengers and staff, although he urged the former to act “responsibly” and consider wearing a mask, for example, if they are sneezing and coughing.
The new recommendation will take effect on May 16.but the particular rules may continue to vary from that date, for example on journeys between countries where the use of a mask on public transport is still a requirement.
Vulnerable passengers should continue to wear masks regardless of the rules, the agencies stressed.
“Although there are still risks, we have seen that non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccines have allowed our lives to begin to return to normal,” said ECDC Director Andrea Ammon.
However, he clarified that the use of a mask, along with the safety distance and hand hygiene, is one of the best measures to reduce the risk of transmission.
“The rules and requirements of the states of origin and destination must be respected and applied consistently and operators should take care to inform passengers of the required measures,” he added.
The organizations further noted that while many states no longer require passengers to fill out a location form before travel, airlines should keep their data collection systems in a standby state, to activate them, for example, in the event that a new covid variant appears.
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In addition, they encouraged passengers to respect safety distances at the airport, where possible, although the operators of these infrastructures must adopt a “pragmatic approach”.
“For example, they should avoid imposing distancing requirements if these are going to lead to bottlenecks at other points in the journey,” they noted. AND