After Heathrow Airport ditched masks, two British airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have announced they will also end their mask requirements, joining smaller British carriers Jet2 and TUI. This will not, however, apply to countries where masks are still required for inbound flights, such as America, where the Biden administration has yet to remove their mandate.
Jet2 was the first British airline to remove masks, announcing all passengers travelling to and from England and Northern Ireland would not need to wear masks from March 1st.
The move comes as England moves away from mask mandates, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps declaring on Monday all remaining travel restrictions, such as testing for arrivals, will end on Friday.
TRAVEL UPDATE
All remaining Covid travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for all arrivals, will be stood down for travel to the UK from 4am on 18 March.
These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 14, 2022
Heathrow Airport, the UK’s primary transport hub, said that from Wednesday, masks would no longer be required in their terminals, rail stations, or office buildings, with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic dropping masks at the same time.
“Today’s announcement sends a clear message to the world – the UK travel sector is back,” said Tim Alderslade, the CEO of Airlines UK, a lobby group for the industry.
“With travellers returning to the UK no longer burdened by unnecessary forms and testing requirements, we can now look forward to the return to pre-Covid normality.”
From 16 March, our face mask policy is changing.
Where we’re clear the destination you’re travelling to doesn’t require a face mask on board, it will become optional 😷 ✈️
Please continue to respect fellow passengers' mask preferences in these instances.#BritishAirways pic.twitter.com/vgh5ws7DfO
— British Airways (@British_Airways) March 15, 2022
However, the airlines are of course not only subject to UK regulation on masks, but those of their destination countries too.
As such, the airlines are implementing their changes bit by bit, with Virgin Atlantic first removing the mask mandates on their routes to the Caribbean.
British Airways is still “working through” which destinations fall into which categories, according to COO Jason Mahoney.
“For destinations where the wearing of a face covering is not mandated, our customers are able to make a personal choice,” Mahoney said.
“I wouldn’t personally feel comfortable sitting next to someone without a mask on”
– Jade Eyles, Imperial College London
Passengers on flights to and from the United States will not be allowed to remove their masks, as the Biden administration mask mandate for public transport, which was supposed to expire on Friday, was extended for another month until April 18th.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of the more conservative members of Congress, applauded the decision from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, but remained angry that America, supposedly the land of the free, was being “shown up” by Canadian truckers and now British airlines.
“AMERICA NEEDS TO LEAD THE WAY FOR FREEDOM!” Boebert wrote.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have officially become the first airlines to lift mask mandates!
Why are we getting shown up by Canadian truckers and now British airlines?
AMERICA NEEDS TO LEAD THE WAY FOR FREEDOM!
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 16, 2022
Unsurprisingly, mask enthusiasts are very upset with the changes.
Jade Eyles, an assistant teaching fellow at Imperial College London, suggested to CNN that passengers who do not wear masks should be segregated from everybody else.
“Although air is frequently replaced on planes, I wouldn’t personally feel comfortable sitting next to someone without a mask on,” Eyles said, attacking the rule changes as “frustrating.”
