Jet2 says ‘no more face masks’ – will other UK airlines follow?

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• @Mainline421 says:

  2 Mar2 March 04:39

  I’d be very surprised if the first group isn’t already smaller than the second!

  We’ve already seen this with trains, the number of people choosing to wear masks quickly drops to a tiny minority and rail usage overall increased, so not requiring masks didn’t put off pax.

• Colin MacKinnon says:

  2 Mar2 March 04:47

  For me, the advantage of CW in the window in the half-empty cabins to the USA is that if you are lying down, no-one cares about the mask.

  Now USA airlines, they are really strict on masks.

  Swiss to Fubai last week we’re strict with words, implying you had to put mask on between sips!

• The Canuck says:

  2 Mar2 March 05:16

  To be honest, I’ve been avoiding BA throughout the pandemic precisely because of the lax attitude on masks. Half the cabin crew don’t even seem to know how to wear them properly…

  I’ve never understood why some people seem to turn into prima donnas any time masks are brought up, but of course it’s a personal choice. Personally, I’m much more comfortable on the North American airlines with their mask enforcement. And given the useless service I’ve experienced the couple times I did fly BA, it has been an easy decision….

  • GM says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:21

    This +++
    Sorry I booked a trip with Jet2 now – they just happen to be one of the main carriers out of BHX.

  • Jon says:

    2 Mar2 March 09:48

    Agreed. Thing is, really the wearing of masks is probably the one thing that should not be a personal choice – given that they are far less about protecting the wearer as protecting others FROM the wearer. If one person happens to be unknowingly (or knowingly!) contagious and chooses not to wear a mask, they put everyone around them at higher risk, especially those who are elderly or clinically vulnerable. The whole “you wear a mask if you want to, it’s my right not to” attitude is really quite saddening – is it really too much to ask for people to be less effing selfish and have just a modicum of consideration for those around them? (Rhetorical question – yes it is, evidently.)

    • S says:

      2 Mar2 March 10:23

      Unlike vaccines and other useful tactics (ventilation etc.) there is no robust evidence that “normal” masks (i.e. unfitted surgical or fabric) as actually worn in practice by real people have a meaningful beneficial effect anything, whereas their negative psychological effect is self-evident. Unfortunately because they are something that people can control themselves they become obsessed about them. If you start by accepting that many people have differing views on their efficacy then you might stop calling other people selfish because they have different views to yours… (and you might see how we could very easily argue you lot are being selfish by imposing your neuroses on the rest of us, but lets perhaps just agree to disagree instead?)

      • TGLoyalty says:

        2 Mar2 March 11:19

        I assume you’ve worn a face mask everywhere every winter since birth otherwise you’d have been potentially subjecting all ages to a potentially debilitating and deadly disease like flu?

        Rather than looking up weak evidence around mass mask wearing perhaps spend more time researching the actual risks to society from a disease for which 99% of the at risk have had multiple doses of vaccines and 95% of the population have anti bodies …

      • chris_se26 says:

        2 Mar2 March 11:19

        Your view is also a reflection of the times we live in – where mask-wearing has become a symbol of continued defence of restrictions against normal freedoms. A year ago, your point would have much more merit – but Covid is on the wane now.

        When can we go maskless, in your opinion? Are you ok with it to be with us forever?

• Nick says:

  2 Mar2 March 05:21

  Until the US Federal rules change, BA won’t either. It’s too complicated having different rules on shorthaul and longhaul, particularly given how many people connect between the two.

  Don’t forget as well that for Jet2 this IS a commercial thing. Their standard type of customer overlaps very strongly with the ‘anti-mask’ brigade.

  • BJ says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:41

    Have to love this comment Nick, would love to see the data to back it up too 🙂

    • Jan M says:

      2 Mar2 March 06:53

      Just anecdotal but forced to fly Jet2 back from Tenerife early January and compliance was appalling across the plane. And that was in the midst of the Omicron wave!

  • mradey says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:52

    Yawn………… . . .

  • GM says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:23

    Agree. Occurred to me too, and not looking forward to having to endure it. Most aren’t the type to voluntarily make a decision to follow public health guidelines.

  • Spurs drive me mad says:

    2 Mar2 March 08:02

    How judgmental are you.

  • jjoohhnn says:

    2 Mar2 March 12:20

    Current US rules expire on 18th March so we should get some insight on to that soon..

• Blair Waldorf Salad says:

  2 Mar2 March 05:27

  Sigh, it’ll take forever for full service carriers to make masks optional. Good news on Jet2 leaving it up to individual choice, but then I never fly Jet2 and doubt their actions influence those I do fly with.

• Andrew J says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:31

  I wish Heathrow would stop mandating masks too – they really are out of step with the rest of the country.

• Mark says:

  2 Mar2 March 06:41

  Given how few people are wearing masks through choice on the train this morning (and every morning since the rules were relaxed) I would say the majority of flyers would already prefer to not have to wear one on a plane

  • Andrew J says:

    2 Mar2 March 06:51

    I certainly view compulsory mask wearing as an infringement on my civil liberties.

    • Erico1875 says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:04

      I would save my civil liberties for something more important

      • Andrew J says:

        2 Mar2 March 07:29

        All civil liberties are important.

    • John says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:24

      Hope you’re equally against indoor smoking bans

      • Joe says:

        2 Mar2 March 08:47

        Not even remotely comparable.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        2 Mar2 March 09:27

        Yes because it’s absolutely the same.

        Forget the health aspects of either smoking indoors creates a smelly Smokey atmosphere which unless you’re in a 70’s jazz club probably isn’t what you want when indoors.

• Stephen says:

  2 Mar2 March 07:03

  People who wear masks are now firmly in the minority when out and about around England. Come on all airlines, ditch them and let us get on with our lives!

  • Scott says:

    2 Mar2 March 07:34

    I’ve been living my life whilst wearing a mask. 90% of the time, it doesn’t affect me in the slightest.
    Still wear one in shops, public transport etc., and will keep doing so for the time being.

    Just because the media has stopped mentioning Covid, and no-one really needs to test means it has suddenly gone away.

    I personally don’t want to be flying somewhere that requires a PCR test or whatever, and find out I’m positive the day or two before, and miss my trip at a potential cost of £1000s because it’s people’s God given right to do what they want as it’s an infringement of their rights. By the same logic, I’ll tuck into my bag of peanuts on a plane as its my right. You take your chances as to whether it affects you. I know no-one with a peanut allergy, so in my mind, it’s a non thing.

    Yes, the mask might be conplery useless, but it’s a little bit of peace of mind for myself and others.

    • Blenz101 says:

      2 Mar2 March 07:38

      Then pop on an N95 mask and leave the rest of us to get on with our lives.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        2 Mar2 March 09:30

        Completely agree. Amazing how many people talk of peace of mind while wearing a dirty 10p “surgical” mask they just pulled out of their pocket for the 15th time that week.

        If you want peace of mind get a proper N95 mask, use for 4-5 hours max and be happy with your own choice.

        • Lady London says:

          2 Mar2 March 10:14

          🙂

    • Joe says:

      2 Mar2 March 08:36

      Then wear one Scott. But forgive me as someone who has recently “recovered” from omicron,

      a) it’s a cold now,
      b) I can’t catch it
      c) I cant spread it
      d) mask orders have been shown to be ineffective – compare Wales and Scotland to England.

      So I won’t wear one. And I won’t travel on an airline which enforces it if there are alternatives.

      • Oxonboy says:

        2 Mar2 March 09:29

        Wrong I’m afraid. You can be reinfected as many have and many will as the virus evolves. Cold like symptoms, true but pretty nasty in my case and I’m still symptomatic and testing positive 9 days after being infected.

    • J says:

      2 Mar2 March 09:29

      @Scott: So, wearing a mask doesn’t affect you and therefore everyone should wear one? Well Covid doesn’t affect me, so I assume I can also flippantly conclude it therefore doesn’t affect anyone else? How about have a little empathy to others and realise that, for some, both wearing and being around people wearing masks can be very distressing?

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