A number of major airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways, will continue to force passengers to wear face masks on their planes after “Freedom Day”. They will join businesses in other sectors which have decided to refuse custom from people who don’t follow Government “advice” after July 19th. ITV News has the story.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that face coverings will no longer be a legal requirement in the fourth and final stage to ease England’s lockdown…
Despite the Government’s decision, Ryanair has said it will continue to make face masks mandatory on flights.
The airline said in a statement: “In order to protect the health of our customers and crew, the use of face masks will still be mandatory across all Ryanair flights, regardless of the departing/destination country.”
Asked about its plans from July 19th, easyJet also said it currently has no plans to drop its requirement for passengers to wear face masks.
It said: “At present, there are no changes to easyJet’s onboard mask policy and we will continue to keep this under review.
“We continue to be guided by our inhouse medical adviser and a number of key industry governing bodies that airlines follow including the World Health Organisation, International Civil Aviation Organisation, E.U. Aviation Safety Agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and public health authorities across Europe, and at present their guidance around the wearing of masks onboard remains unchanged.”
Meanwhile, train industry body the Rail Delivery Group said “wearing a mask helps protect others”, but said that the relaxation of the rules around their use indoors would apply to trains.
It has however have pledged to “support” passengers who continue wearing face coverings if they become voluntary.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: “If people don’t object to this now, their grandchildren will be wearing masks in the 2050s, although nobody will remember why,” says Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens.
