Wear face-mask to avoid air travel ban

Dubai - Face-masks can help reduce spread of potential Covid-19 droplets from the mouth by 90 per cent.

Airline passengers who refuse to wear face-masks during flight could be asked to leave the plane and also be banned from taking flights in the future, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said.
Passengers agree to the airline's terms and conditions of carriage and are under obligations to follow the rules and regulations when purchasing the air ticket.
The conditions can include the airline's right to refuse carriage to a person whose behaviour interferes with a flight, violates government regulations or causes other passengers to feel unsafe. Airlines also highlight the need to wear a face covering during the booking process, at check-in, at the gate and in onboard announcements," the global aviation body said.
"Failure to comply means that a passenger faces the risk of being offloaded from their flight, restrictions on future carriage or penalties under national laws," said Iata, a trade association representing some 290 airlines or 82 per cent of total air traffic.
The UAE airlines have also made it mandatory to wear masks at airports and during the flight to ensure safety of the passengers and crew members.
Face-masks can help reduce spread of potential Covid-19 droplets from the mouth by 90 per cent.
"This is a call for common sense and taking responsibility. The vast majority of travellers understand the importance of face covering both for themselves as well as for their fellow passengers, and airlines appreciate this collective effort.
"But a small minority create problems. Failure to comply can jeopardise a flight's safety, disrupt the travel experience of other passengers and impact the work environment for crew," said Alexandre de Juniac, director-general and CEO of Iata.
Though the number of incidents are small in numbers but some on-board incidents have become violent, resulting in costly and extremely inconvenient diversions to offload these passengers.
Dr David Powell, medical advisor for Iata, reiterated that the risk of catching Covid-19 on a flight remains very low.
"The high flow rate of cabin air from top to bottom, constant filtering of air through state-of-the-art Hepa filters, the fact that all seats face the same direction and of course wearing a face-covering and sanitisation of the aircraft all play a part," he added. - waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com