Let Common Sense Prevail

IATA is appealing to all travellers to wear face coverings during the travel journey for the safety of all passengers and crew during COVID-19.

The appeal, from the global airline industry association, comes following recent reports of travellers refusing to wear a face covering during a flight.

And while these incidents involved only a very small number of individuals, some on-board incidents have become violent, resulting in costly and extremely inconvenient diversions to offload these passengers.

IATA points out that wearing face coverings is a key recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) guidance for safe operations during the pandemic, as developed jointly with the World Health Organization and governments.

Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, said that: “This is a call for common sense and taking responsibility. The vast majority of travellers understand the importance of face covering both for themselves as well as for their fellow passengers, and airlines appreciate this collective effort.”

“But a small minority create problems,” de Juniac continued. “Safety is at the core of aviation, and compliance with crew safety instructions is the law. Failure to comply can jeopardize a flight’s safety, disrupt the travel experience of other passengers and impact the work environment for crew.”

In its statement, IATA pointed out that a plane ticket is a contract under which the passenger agrees to the airline’s terms and Conditions of Carriage.

Those conditions can include the airline’s right to refuse carriage to a person whose behavior interferes with a flight, violates government regulations or causes other passengers to feel unsafe.

Airlines also highlight the need to wear a face covering during the booking process, at check-in, at the gate and in onboard announcements.

And it makes clear that failure to comply means that a passenger faces the risk of being offloaded from their flight, restrictions on future carriage or penalties under national laws.

According to tests at the University of Edinburgh, face covering, when properly worn, can cut the forward spread of potential COVID-19 droplets from the mouth by 90%.

Face covering forms part of a multi-layered approach in the ICAO Take-off guidance to cut the risk of transmission of COVID-19 during the travel journey.

Other measures to protect the safety of passengers during the pandemic include contactless check-in and immigration formalities at both the departure and arrival airports, social distancing where possible, increased cleaning and sanitization at airports and on aircraft, and contact tracing.

IATA’s Medical Advisor, Dr David Powell said that: “The research we have seen to date, and our own investigations with the world’s airlines, tell us that the risk of catching COVID-19 on a flight remains very low. There appears to be a number of factors supporting that. The high flow rate of cabin air from top to bottom, constant filtering of air through state-of-the-art HEPA filters, the fact that all seats face the same direction and of course wearing a face covering and sanitization of the aircraft all play a part.”

And Powell adds: “This is not just about protecting yourself. It’s about protecting everyone else on the flight.”