The Biden administration was seriously considering it. With the Covid pandemic becoming endemic, civil aviation authorities were seriously considering removing the mask requirement in May.

Then, a judge’s ruling in Florida precipitated things earlier this week. The mandatory wearing of masks in the United States was deemed illegal, and the authorities immediately took note of this.

Since April 19, it is no longer mandatory to wear a mask on public transport. American Airlines, Alaska, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Southwest and United immediately decided to take advantage of the new rule. From now on, the mask will be optional. The measure also applies to trains and public transport.

Europe in hybrid mode

In Europe, we are still far from such a generalization, but it seems likely that we are moving towards it. The United Kingdom is the most advanced. British Airways, Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic have abolished the wearing of masks to destinations that have also abolished them. This is the case for flights to the Caribbean islands, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Iceland, Hungary or Poland. This will also be the case for the United States.

In the same way, Icelandair also has a selective policy adapted to each country. From now on, the masks will be removed from the United States and the United Kingdom, but not from Germany or France. SAS Scandinavian Airlines was also one of the first to abolish the mask requirement between the three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). This obligation was abolished last October. The measure will be extended to the United States.

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KLM, for its part, has indicated that it will warn passengers before departure when the mask can be removed. As in France, the Netherlands continue to ask passengers to wear a mask… In France, we can expect a probable revision of the protocol after the legislative elections. A little more patience!