Travellers will no longer have to wear face masks at airports and on flights across Europe from May 16

This comes following an announcement made on Wednesday by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

“From next week, face masks will no longer need to be mandatory in air travel in all cases, broadly aligning with the changing requirements of national authorities across Europe for public transport,” says EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky.

“It is a relief to all of us that we are finally reaching a stage in the pandemic where we can start to relax the health safety measures.”

The agencies say that rules for wearing masks are expected to vary once the mandatory requirement is lifted, with airlines told to encourage passengers to use masks on flights to or from destinations where wearing a mask on public transport is still necessary.

“While risks do remain, we have seen that non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccines have allowed our lives to begin to return to normal,” says ECDC director Andrea Ammon.

“While mandatory mask-wearing in all situations is no longer recommended, it is important to be mindful that together with physical distancing and good hand hygiene it is one of the best methods of reducing transmission.”

The announcement follows a similar change in the U.S. with a number of airlines like United and Delta saying masks are no longer compulsory from April, after a federal judge in Florida ruled that the U.S. administration’s mask mandate on public transport was unlawful.

In recent months, many European countries including Italy, Greece, France, Bulgaria as well as the U.K. have been easing or ending many or all of their coronavirus travel measures.
Masks have been mandatory on flights in the EU for the last two years.

Danaya Malenda contributed to this report.