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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 24th 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.
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 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 (27th 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 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.
As of March 16th, 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.
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
22nd 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 7th
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 7th 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.
Need more info then get in contact
© Currency Online Group
9th February 2022