As of May 23, 2020, the Republic of Austria will prohibit arriving passenger flights from Belarus, thereby effectively blocking the state-owned Belavia. The carrier only started non-stop flights between Minsk and Vienna on April 25, 2020. These are currently served with machines of the Embraer 175 type. According to NOTAM, the measure is limited to June 14, 2020.

Aircraft that took off in Switzerland are welcome again in Austria. These will be allowed to fly regularly with passengers from May 23, 2020. This creates the basic prerequisites for Easyjet, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Helvetic to be able to fly between the Confederation and Austria again.

For the airline Wizzair in particular, which continues to sell flights to Spain, France, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the latest NOTAM is unlikely to be good news. Austria still does not allow incoming passenger flights from a total of ten countries to land. The only change is that Switzerland will no longer be blocked from Saturday, but Belarus will now be blocked.

Specifically, passenger flights from the following countries are officially prohibited from May 23, 2020: People's Republic of China, Iran, Italy, Belarus, France, Spain, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The ban on flights arriving from Switzerland with passengers on board will be lifted on May 22, 2020 at 23:59 p.m.

However, the list of exceptions is also quite remarkable. While the categories of freight, emergency, ambulance, ferry and repatriation were previously permitted, there are now two new options: If there are only agricultural and forestry workers on board the aircraft, or only care and health personnel, the ban does not apply and the passenger flight may be carried out. Landings where the passengers do not leave the aircraft are also permitted. This could, for example, be a refueling stop in Austria.

Mask requirement in airplanes and terminals
Incidentally, the changes in the area of ​​the countries that are closed to incoming passenger flights do not change anything about the strict entry regulations currently in force in the Republic of Austria. Until May 31, 2020, a 14-day quarantine must be entered or, alternatively, a negative COVID-19 test, which must not be older than four days, can be submitted. The relaxations, some of which have already been implemented, currently only apply to land routes, but not to air routes. It is not yet clear how Austria will regulate entry from June 1, 2020 in detail. It can be assumed that upon arrival from certain countries to which all bilateral restrictions will be lifted from June 15, 2020. In the future, quarantine may no longer be necessary, while arriving from other countries everything could remain unchanged.

Austria also extended the obligation to wear mouth and nose protection on board aircraft and inside airports. This applies to both passengers and staff. A mask is not explicitly prescribed, but the NOTAM describes this as a “mechanical protective object that covers the mouth and nose and is worn as a barrier against aerosol infection”. This means that a scarf or shawl can also be used, provided that a purpose comparable to an MNS mask is fulfilled. Only children under the age of six are explicitly excluded from this obligation.