Low-cost airline Ryanair will soon remove the requirement to wear masks on flights departing from the UK. This makes it the second provider from the island state to waive mandatory mouth and nose protection in accordance with local regulations.

CEO Michael O'Leary announced that the connections to / from the UK would first be freed from the masks. In the rest of the route network, nothing will change in the short term because you have to comply with local regulations. Nevertheless, the manager envisages that, depending on the local legal situation, one could then gradually say goodbye to the masks.

There are - similar to Jet2 – one crucial exception: If the destination state stipulates by means of a notam that all occupants and crew members must wear mouth and nose protection or an FFP2 mask during the flight, then the mask requirement continues to apply on these routes. An example of this are the flights between the United Kingdom and Austria, because the Alpine Republic continues to stipulate that FFP2 masks must be worn by means of a notam. This applies to all airlines flying to/from Austria.

On March 5, 2022, Austria will relax the mask requirement in many areas. However, this does not apply to public transport, including scheduled and charter flights. So nothing changes for passengers, because FFP2 masks must still be worn in airport terminals and on board aircraft, for example.