Since September 15, 2021, FFP2 masks are again mandatory on flights to / from Austria. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) has prescribed it that way. In practice, however, this is still little known and is disregarded even by flight personnel of various airlines.

Actually, the notam with which the airlines are instructed that only FFP2 masks must be worn on connections to / from Austria is not particularly difficult to understand. There are a few exceptions, for example for pregnant women or children, but the group of people who can make use of these is extremely small.

There is a high probability that flight attendants do not fall under the exception of the FFP2 mask requirement. So these are not allowed to wear MNS, but have to have FFP2 on their faces. In practice, it has been shown on a total of eight flights that Aviation Direct employees have completed with various airlines to / from Vienna since September 15, 2021 that Mr Mückstein's regulation is being disregarded by both passengers and staff.

The subjectively perceived bird was shot by an Air France purser, who insisted that two passengers replace their cloth masks with surgical masks and kindly give them some. Actually, he should have insisted on FFP2, but the flight attendant only wore a surgical mask himself. If you take it very carefully: The travelers concerned should not have entered Terminal 3 in Vienna with their cloth masks, because FFP2 is mandatory.

As a reminder: According to the ordinance of the Minister of Health, FFP2 masks must be worn on public transport including airport terminals and train stations as well as on trips and flights to / from Austria. Many passengers do not adhere to it, neither do many flight attendants and in general no one seems to be interested.

It goes without saying that the police and the armed forces do not intervene at Vienna Airport when travelers with “normal masks” are standing in front of them. If you follow the ordinance, they could "welcome" them with a fine notice. But it does not happen, so it is not surprising that foreign guests in particular sit in the express train even without an FFP2 mask. If they are made aware of this in a friendly manner, for example by the conductor, there is primarily astonishment, because the rule is completely unknown, especially to foreign visitors. No wonder: Austria is currently the only EU country that insists on FFP2 masks.

Ministry spokeswoman highlights high threat of punishment

Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein has decreed this obligation and the implementation does not work either at Vienna-Schwechat Airport or on board flights to / from Austria as the minister wrote in his ordinance. The ministry concerned was particularly taciturn with the reservation of specific cases including flight numbers and details of the airline and only gave a vague answer to the question of how to enforce the FFP2 obligation:

“In Austria, operators have to ensure compliance with the mask requirement. In addition, there are controls by the responsible health authorities and / or the executive. If the mask requirement is disregarded, the police have the option of issuing an organ penalty mandate of 90 euros instead of filing a complaint. The control of compliance with the quarantine (“segregation”) is the responsibility of the district administrative authority that orders it. Any violations will be punished as administrative offenses. Fines of up to 1.450 euros can be imposed. In addition, the provisions of Sections 178 and 179 of the Criminal Code (endangering people from communicable diseases) can be applied, ”said a spokeswoman for the ministry headed by Mückstein.

However, the ministry did not answer how exactly compliance should be enforced at Austrian airports and on flights to / from Austria. As already mentioned, the description of specific cases has not been dealt with either. It was not about individual people, but about the fact that an enormous number of travelers and many flight attendants do not comply with the FFP2 mask requirement or do not know it. Mückstein is likely to have created a rather toothless regulation, because the threat of high penalties does not help much if even the border and immigration control is not interested in whether a cloth or surgical mask is worn instead of FFP2.

What then is the point and purpose of the coverings known as "abrasive masks" before the pandemic? A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health answered this question as follows: "FFP2 masks (without breathing valve) are not only used for external protection but also for self-protection". The ministry took one week and one urgency to forward the opinion quoted in this article. It does not seem to be in a hurry when it comes to FFP2 requirements at airports and on board passenger flights to / from Austria.