Contrarian columnists and politicians aside, the consensus is there: masks help prevent the spread of the ’rona. And, increasingly, there are laws in place to make sure we all accept that.
Over the past week or so, for example, face coverings have been made compulsory in indoor public spaces across the UK, France, Belgium and several other European nations.
Now the bloc’s transport ministers have also reached an agreement on unified measures to be imposed in European airspace. Most notably, adults and children aged six and over will now have to wear masks on all aircraft flying over the continent.
The majority of airlines have already made it mandatory for adult passengers to wear face masks while boarding and in cabins. Until now, however, children have often been exempt from such rules.
Among several other measures hammered out during the video call between European ministers yesterday, airlines will be required to disinfect planes more regularly and also enforce social distancing at airports, Belgian news site Sudpresse reported.
It came as the CEOs of major airlines including United, American Airlines and Lufthansa yesterday signed a joint letter calling on the US and EU to introduce a joint testing programme that could help reboot transatlantic air travel.
The letter, addressed to American vice president Mike Pence and the EU’s commissioner of home affairs, Ylva Johansson, claimed an airport testing programme would allow ‘safe and swift restoration of air travel’ between the two regions.
With record numbers of cases being reported every day in the States, however, any return to normal-ish service seems very unlikely for quite some time.
How safe is flying right now? We asked an expert.
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