Industry leaders have urged travellers to respect rules on face coverings when flying after media reports of passengers on a Tui flight removing masks and moving around the cabin.
Tui rejected the alleged breaches of Covid-safety rules, but a senior industry source warned: “It’s not good for anyone’s confidence. Every airline is exposed on this.”
An Iata spokesman described the face mask rule as “unequivocal”, saying: “When a passenger buys a ticket, they agree to abide by the rules of travel. The crew have the right to disembark the passenger. The same way you don’t smoke on aircraft, if you’re asked to wear a mask you must comply.”
Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, said: “The story picked up by the media, that Tui wasn’t enforcing the rules, may well not be the case but it won’t encourage people to go anywhere. It doesn’t reflect well on the travel industry as a whole. I fear it won’t help bookings and may add to the pressure to impose quarantine restrictions on Greece.”
Iata director general Alexandre de Juniac agreed: “This behaviour is damaging for the industry. We agreed these measures; we should implement them strictly and not have any compromises.”
All 193 passengers and crew on board the Tui flight from Zante to Cardiff on August 25 are being forced to self-isolate for 14 days after 16 people on board tested positive for Covid-19. One passenger subsequently told the BBC fellow passengers had removed masks or worn them under their chins.
Government and industry guidelines require passengers and crew to wear face coverings throughout their time in the airport and on board a flight, with exemptions only for medical reasons or while eating or drinking.
In a statement, Tui said: “Following an initial investigation, we’re confident that multiple announcements took place via the PA and individual conversations with customers to reinforce protocols, and other customers on the flight have confirmed these findings.”
An aviation industry source said: “This is a disruptive incident like [excess] drinking on a flight. It’s not easy for staff to enforce and we don’t want to get into the realms of a heavy‑handed response, but crew have wide-ranging powers.”
An airline source agreed, saying: “Crews have powers to enforce [the rules], but airlines report passenger compliance is good. This could be an isolated case.”
Iata noted airlines have “the right to refuse carriage to a person whose behaviour… causes other passengers to feel unsafe”.
Dr David Powell, Iata medical advisor, said: “The primary objective of masks on board is to protect other passengers, not the wearer. The face-covering requirement will probably remain until there is no widespread community transmission [of Covid].”
More: Tui ‘confident’ about mask announcements on Zante flight
