https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2020-08-24-01/
Travelers Face Risk of Penalties for Refusing to Wear Face Coverings
Translations:
Sanciones para los viajeros que rehusen llevar mascarilla (pdf)
Les voyageurs qui refusent de porter un couvre-visage sont passibles de sanctions (pdf)
国际航协：旅客在航空旅行中拒戴口罩将面临处罚风险 (pdf)
Geneva - The International Air Transport Association
(IATA) is appealing to all travelers to wear face covering during the
travel journey for the safety of all passengers and crew during
COVID-19.
Wearing face coverings is a key recommendation of the International
Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) guidance for safe operations during
the pandemic, as developed jointly with the World Health Organization
and governments.
IATA is emphasizing the need for passengers to comply with the
recommendation following recent reports of travelers refusing to wear a
face covering during a flight. While this is confined to a very small
number of individuals, some on-board incidents have become violent,
resulting in costly and extremely inconvenient diversions to offload
these passengers.
“This is a call for common sense and taking responsibility. The vast
majority of travelers 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.
Safety is at the core of aviation, and compliance with crew safety
instructions is the law. Failure to comply can jeopardize a flight’s
safety, disrupt the travel experience of other passengers and impact the
work environment for crew,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director
General and CEO.
Obligations under Conditions of Carriage
A plane ticket is a contract under which the passenger agrees to the
airline’s terms and Conditions of Carriage. Those conditions can include
the airline’s right to refuse carriage to a person whose behavior
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.
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.
Face Covering is part of a layering of measures
According to tests at the University of Edinburgh, face covering,
when properly worn, can cut the forward spread of potential COVID-19
droplets from the mouth by 90%.
“The research we have seen to date, and our own investigations with
the world’s airlines, tell us that the risk of catching COVID-19 on a
flight remains very low. There appears to be a number of factors
supporting that. 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 sanitization of the aircraft all play a part,” said IATA’s
Medical Advisor, Dr David Powell.
“This is not just about protecting yourself. It’s about protecting everyone else on the flight,” he said.
