Mask wearing rules for Jet2, EasyJet, Ryanair, British Airways and TUI

Do I need to wear a face mask at UK airports?

With all remaining Covid restrictions lifted in England on February 24^th it became no longer a legal requirement to wear a face mask at venues indoors, including airports. While the wearing of face masks continues to be recommended it is now at the choice of the traveller, if they chose to wear a mask while present at the airport. However, you will still find that certain UK airlines state on their websites that masks should still be worn at the airport which makes this rule conflicting. Is it time for the rules to become more consistent and that mask wearing become, across the board, a personal choice?

Do I need to wear a face mask on the plane?

As with the question above it very much depends on which airline you are flying with. Here we have tried to summarise the rules per the main airlines used by passengers from the UK.

JET2

At the beginning of March Jet2 became the first UK airline to drop the mandatory use of face masks on flights departing the UK (excluding Scotland). It was felt that as the legal requirement to wear masks was dropped in all other circumstances, the same should be said of travelling on their planes. Of course, the company is following Government guidance and still openly encouraging passengers to wear them, but this is something that cannot be enforced.

Those departing Scottish airports and are aged 6 and over will still have to continue to wear a face mask at the airport, boarding gate and on the plane.

Of course, while these rules are relevant to the countries in the UK, passengers must ensure they know the face mask wearing rules of their destination country.

EASYJET

EasyJet have just announced that mandatory use of face masks to those countries where there is no legal requirement to wear a face mask, will end this Sunday (27^th March 2022)

Passengers aged 6 and over and not medically exempt will still need to wear face masks if the destination country still has laws in place. The airline said it will continue to remove the mask-wearing rule on other international routes as and when both ends of the route has no legal requirement. It stated: "As a pan European airline operating between over 30 countries, we must continue to ensure that we and our customers follow the legal requirements of all the countries we fly to.

The airline’s website currently states that EasyJet will not accept scarves, visors or masks with valves as acceptable face coverings and insist that it must be “FFP2 (or equivalent) certified, surgical or cloth”

Failure to wear the correct face covering will result in not being able to board your flight.

Passengers travelling from Scotland still have to follow the country’s guidelines that face mask wearing is still mandatory at airports and on the planes, unless exempt.

RYANAIR

Ryanair continues to monitor the situation and has indicated that mandatory face mask wearing on board their flights is likely to be dropped as early as the end of April/beginning of May.

For now, the rules are still in place that all passengers 6 and over must wear a face mask at the boarding gate, on the plane etc.

In particular if you are travelling to, from or within Italy, Austria or Germany, a FFP2 face mask must be worn as it is the only type that will be accepted.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

As of March 16^th, British Airways changed their policy on wearing face masks. In line with the changes in law within England the airline has stated that those destinations where it doesn’t require you to wear a face mask, the choice to wear a face mask becomes optional. For those destinations, where there is still a requirement to do so, the airline asks that the same rules apply for those travelling from England and Northern Ireland.

TUI

As with Jet2, TUI was one of the first to decide to scrap the mandatory use of face masks for flights departing England and Northern Ireland. TUI does advise passengers to carry a face mask to ensure you are not caught out by arriving in a country that still requires you to wear one. As per the government guidelines they still promote the recommendation to wear a face mask for your own protection.

Those passengers aged 12 and over travelling from Scotland and Wales will still be required to wear a face mask regardless if they are fully vaccinated or not.

We hope that clears things up a bit! We will keep all our readers up to date with the newest travel changes and remember if you do require currency for your trip away then take advantage of the best rates and service on the market with Currency Online Group.

© Currency Online Group

22^nd March 2022

Can I travel to Spain, Greece and Portugal?

In light of the response to the slow-down in spread of Omicron and the fact that the virus is seen as a milder form of Covid-19 many of the popular holiday destination countries have begun to relax their entry rules in preparation for the influx of holidaymakers desperate to return to normal times.

Currency Online Group likes to keep all its readers and followers up to date on the rules and try to give things in the most summarised version, as we appreciate how confusing things can be right now in understanding what will be required on departure and arrival into these holiday hotspots. Nobody wants to be turned away for not having the correct details!

Spain (Including Canary Islands and Balearic Islands)

Only permit Brits to enter if they can prove they were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 within the last 270 days.

Means all adults who received their second dose more than 9 months (which is on or before May 7th 2021) must have had booster jab to qualify as fully vaccinated.

The booster must also have been administered 14 days prior to travel.

The need to be fully vaccinated also applies to those aged between 12 and 17.

All passengers will be required to fill out a pre-departure health form and show the issued QR code from this on arrival into Spain

Unvaccinated?

If you are travelling to Spain for tourism reasons and you are not fully vaccinated you cannot currently enter Spain and its islands.

Portugal

From 7^th February the rules changed slightly in terms of gaining entry to Portugal for those fully vaccinated.

Those who were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 within the last 270 days are no longer required to provide a negative covid test on arrival into Portugal.

‘Fully vaccinated’ means all adults who received their second dose more than 9 months (which is on or before May 13th 2021) must have had booster jab to qualify as fully vaccinated.

The booster must also have been administered 14 days prior to travel to Portugal.

The need to be fully vaccinated also applies to those aged between 12 and 17.

Passengers who can show recovery status via digital certificate within 180 days are also permitted to enter without the need to produce a negative covid test

Unvaccinated?

Unlike Spain, Portugal is happy for those unvaccinated passengers to enter providing a negative covid test is shown on arrival.

This can be a PCR test (within 72 hours of arrival) or a private rapid antigen which must be performed within 48 hours of touching down in mainland Portugal.

All those aged 11 and under are not required to test.

As with Spain a Passenger Locator Form is required by the Government of Portugal.

If you are traveling to one of the islands of Portugal, be sure to check out the Gov.UK guidance on entry to these as the rules above apply to mainland Portugal.

Greece

As with Portugal, Greece adopted the same rule change on February 7^th 2022 that fully vaccinated passengers no longer need to produce a negative Covid-19 test on arrival.

Those who were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 within the last 270 days are no longer required to provide a negative covid test on arrival into Portugal.

‘Fully vaccinated’ means all adults who received their second dose more than 9 months (which is on or before May 13th 2021) must have had booster jab to qualify as fully vaccinated.

The booster must also have been administered 14 days prior to travel to Greece and its islands.

The need to be fully vaccinated also applies to those aged between 5 and 17.

Passengers who can show recovery status via digital certificate within 180 days are also permitted to enter without the need to produce a negative covid test

Unvaccinated?

Greece is happy to welcome those unvaccinated passengers providing a negative covid test can be shown on arrival.

This can be a PCR test (within 72 hours of arrival) or a private rapid antigen which must be performed within 48 hours of touching down in mainland Portugal.

All those aged 5 and under are not required to test.

As with the above countries a Passenger Locator Form needs to completed with QR code issued, to be shown on arrival.

Remember if you are visiting any of the above countries then be sure to check out Currency Online Group for the best rates on your currency exchange. We offer next day home delivery, free on orders over £750, if ordered before 12pm. We have over 10,000 five-star reviews on Compare Holiday Money making us one of the most trusted currency providers on the market. Prefer to collect in person? We have a new discreet and secure office location within at Scott House (within London Waterloo Station) opposite platforms 20-26.

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© Currency Online Group

9^th February 2022