Whether it is a legal obligation, a decision of the airline or a recommendation or directive of an international organization, the wearing of masks is now mandatory in airplanes for passengers and crew, with the exception of pilots once isolated in the cockpit
But what many passengers don’t know is that not all masks are allowed on board and that if they don’t have the right model they risk being denied boarding!
No universal rule on the type of mask to wear on a plane
Here again, we are in a grey area since there is no universal rule on the subject. In the United States, in the absence of a law, it is the airlines that make their own. In France, on the other hand, the decree requiring the wearing of a mask (decree no. 2020-860) gives details that seem clear.
Thus, a passenger who flies from country to country by changing airlines may be subject to different mask rules at different stages of his journey.
Surgical mask only on French airlines
In France, the decree n° 2020-860 is clear: the mask must respect the “technical characteristics fixed by the joint order of the ministers in charge of health and the budget”.
To find these characteristics you will have to refer to the…general tax code! And there one falls in the great nonsense:
K bis – Masks and protective clothing adapted to the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the list and technical characteristics of which are fixed by joint order of the Ministers of Health and Budget.
Back to square one. In fact, you only had to read a little further in the decree (Title 2, Ch1, Section 1, Article 11, IV, §2).
All persons eleven years of age or older shall wear, on board aircrafts engaged in public transport to, from or within the national territory, as soon as they board, a single-use surgical mask that meets the specifications set out in Annex 1 to this decree.
Now it’s clear. By disposable surgical mask we mean of course the usual 3-ply surgical mask, but FFP masks, which are rarer in the general public, also seem to logically meet the criteria.
However, the fabric mask is clearly not allowed on French airlines.
Air Corsica immediately recalled him.
Just like Air France which specifies on its website that “The wearing of a surgical mask is mandatory on board our planes”.
Please note that this only applies on board the aircraft and not in the airport as we will see below!
What masks for foreign airlines operating to and from France?
The EASA has issued a recommendation specifying that when we talk about a mask, we are talking about a surgical mask (point 3.1). But it is only a recommendation, principles and recommended best practices as the text states very well (The use of medical face masks10 (hereon referred to as ‘face masks’) should be recommended). Moreover, the recommendation does not only concern the type of mask but the wearing of the mask in general.
In the absence of national regulations on the subject, the airlines can do what they want (at the beginning, an airline like Swiss “recommended” the wearing of masks before changing its mind and imposing it) but common sense makes everyone follow these recommendations.
When Lufthansa imposed the wearing of masks before this recommendation, reusable cloth masks were even recommended rather than disposable masks before signing the EASA charter. But nowhere does the German airline talk about excluding reusable masks. In fact, most of the airlines now allow the latter. The same is true (or not true) for EasyJet and British Airways.
On the other hand, if an airline operates from or to France, it must comply with French regulations, even though its national regulations are more lenient regarding the type of mask authorized.
All this is quite vague and lacks coherence but at least as long as you leave or return from France things are clear, no matter the airline. Afterwards, if you have a connection from London or Frankfurt for example, you may be subject to a less strict obligation.
The same rules do not apply in the same way in airplanes and airports
The famous decree n° 2020-860 says well (Title 2, Ch1, Section 1, Article 11, IV, §2), once again that:
All persons eleven years of age or older shall wear, on board aircrafts engaged in public transportation to, from or within the national territory, as soon as they board, a single-use surgical mask that meets the specifications set forth in Annex 1 to this decree.
But what does it say one line above (Title 2, Ch1, Section 1, Article 11, IV, §1):
Any person eleven years of age or older who accesses or remains in passenger areas of air terminals or passenger transfer vehicles shall wear a protective mask.
Now we are only talking about protective masks. So a priori you are free to wear the mask of your choice in a French airport, the wearing of a surgical mask is only required when you enter an aircraft flying the French flag.
Why make simple when you can make complicated!
In the USA no valve mask
In the United States, there is no law to impose the wearing of masks and even less to specify the wearing of masks, so it is done piecemeal, airline by airline.
There is no distinction to date between surgical and fabric masks. On the other hand, there is a consensus among the main airlines to ban the “valve mask”.
And the face shields in all this?
For some, masks can be replaced by face shields. Clearly, regardless of whether it is cloth or disposable, the simple fact that a mask is required to the exclusion of any other device excludes protective devices that you may wear on board.
But contrary to what we can see elsewhere, some airlines allow or even favor them. For example, Qatar Airways even distributes them to all its passengers. They must be worn in addition to the face mask.
Similarly, in the USA, when face shields are not banned, their use is conditional on wearing a mask…underneath.
The face shield is not a substitute for the face mask but a complement that will be optional or mandatory depending on the airline.
Bottom line: get informed!
It is not easy to find one’s way through the ever-changing jungle of health constraints related to COVID-19, especially when it comes to masks.
We have only one piece of advice: look at the constraints of the airline you are going to use and be especially careful if your trip includes different segments flown on different airlines.
One thing is certain: for the time being, the disposable surgical mask is the only one accepted everywhere!
Photo : mask in plane by Thippawan NZ via Shutterstock
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