Scottish airline Loganair will continue to require customers on every flight to wear face coverings, unless medically exempt, even if official UK rules change in the near future.
Loganair, which was the first carrier in Britain to mandate the wearing of face coverings on flights in May 2020 – before legal requirements were introduced – has set out its policy in light of media reports about upcoming changes to UK Government policy.
It said it had taken account of the possibility of different regulations for public transport across the four nations of the UK.
We believe that a consistent policy across our route network will provide assurance and confidence for each and every customer.”
Maurice Boyle, chief operating officer, Loganair
The Glasgow-based airline, whose route network spans all four nations, added it needed a clear policy across Britain in order to “avoid confusion that could otherwise occur”.
Loganair’s policy will be legally supported by its conditions of carriage, the document of terms and conditions which underpins every airline journey in the UK.
Chief operations officer Maurice Boyle said: “Safety and security is always Loganair’s top priority.
“We believe that a consistent policy across our route network will provide assurance and confidence for each and every customer – and that confidence has been at the forefront of Loganair’s efforts to fly continuously throughout the pandemic to deliver essential connectivity across the UK.”
Mr Boyle added: “Unless a customer is medically exempt from the need to wear a face covering, we’ll be keeping the requirement to wear one in place on every Loganair flight.
“We’ll keep this under regular review and communicate future changes when the time is right for those to be made.”
The UK Government is expected to scrap the legal requirement to wear masks in a variety of situations, including on flights, as well as the need for any social distancing as England moves towards its so-called “freedom day” of Covid-19 restrictions being lifted on July 19.
Virgin Atlantic is among the airlines considering a swift return to mask-free air travel, but budget operators Ryanair easyJet and now Loganair have all said they will keep face coverings as mandatory after July 19.
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