From February 25, 2021, Austrian commercial aircraft will be required to wear an FFP2 mask. However, the government can only enforce this for airlines that have AOC and operating permits issued in Austria as well as for domestic traffic.

In the case of foreign airlines that are active in international air traffic, the federal government is dependent on the carriers' goodwill. Due to international agreements, these are almost exclusively subject to the law of their home countries. For example, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings Europe, Easyjet Europe and Peoples might have to require and enforce the wearing of FFP2 masks, but Ryanair, Lauda Europe, Wizzair, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa or Emirates, for example, continue to carry their passengers with the simple MNS -Masks can fly.

Although the federal government wants FFP25 masks to be worn on all public transport, when shopping, refueling or in the pharmacy from February 2021, 2, this cannot be implemented by ordinance in international air traffic with foreign airlines.

The airlines with Austrian approvals are currently evaluating the situation and want to communicate the next few days to the passengers about how to proceed. First of all, the written ordinance is awaited, as the statements made by members of the Austrian government during their press conferences have repeatedly deviated from the actual text.