The European Union no longer recommends wearing masks on board commercial aircraft from Monday. However, Germany and Austria do not want to change anything – at least for the time being. The flight attendants' union Ufo fears that there could be increasingly noisy discussions on board.

"In the past few days, there has been a debate about how national and European law can be reconciled in order not to draw international passengers into a conflict. However, in the discussion we are clearly missing the view of the cabin workers, about whose occupational safety and health protection we have to talk above all. The employer is fundamentally responsible for ensuring the safety of his flight personnel, including the provision of medical masks and disinfectant materials, which the employees can use without restrictions," said UFO Chairman Daniel Kassa Mbuambi.

The area of ​​tension arises above all for international passengers who get into conflicts with the crews on flights to and from Germany, who have to enforce the obligation to wear masks. “As a result, psychologically stressful escalation situations arise time and again for the cabin crew. It should not be forgotten that the flight attendants have to complete further flights once the guest has disembarked. The need for protection of the crews, who provide service for frequently changing customers in a confined space, must be taken into account,” adds Kassa Mbuambi.

The recommendation of the European Aviation Safety Agency EASA and the EU health authority ECDC states that from May 16, 2022, the mask requirement on airplanes and at airports can be waived. In order to implement this recommendation, the individual European member states must now create the appropriate legal basis. In Germany, according to the current legal situation, the mask requirement would continue to apply until September 23.09.2022, XNUMX.