Passenger Health Safety - COVID-19

Yes, remember the “respiratory etiquette”. You should cover your mouth and nose with a paper towel when sneezing or coughing, even when wearing a face mask. If this is not possible, cough or sneeze into your flexed elbow. 

There should be enough alcohol based hand sanitising solution
at the airport. However, you can still bring your own and take it on board providing it complies with the restrictions, dimensions and quantity that apply to carry-on liquids.
 

If you do not follow the instructions, then you may not be allowed to travel. 

• You may be refused access to the airport terminal building, to the aircraft cabin, or removed from the cabin, according to national/local legislation, if you do not follow the instructions given, which are there for the safety of all. Depending on local regulations, you may face additional consequences as determined by the local authorities.
   
• If the aircraft is already in flight, the procedures relating to handling cases of unruly passengers may be applied if you do not comply with the instructions of the cabin crew. Further actions may be taken by the local authorities at the destination airport, in line with local regulations, as a result of actions that endangers the flight and health safety of other passengers and crew members.
   

The preventive measures included in the EASA/ECDC COVID-19 Aviation Health Safety Protocol on physical distancing, respiratory etiquette, meticulous hand hygiene and avoiding touching the face, nose, eyes and mouth must be followed for the safety of all air travellers and aviation personnel. The requirement to wear a medical face mask throughout the journey is also mandatory for passengers. The recommended measures will be regularly evaluated and updated in line with changes in knowledge of the risk of transmission as well as with development of other diagnostic or the evolution of the pandemic.

Yes, EASA believes that member states, national health authorities and air transport operators have put everything possible in place to make it safe to fly. However an important contribution comes from the passengers themselves, who have a responsibility to themselves, other travellers and air personnel to follow the procedures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  

It is not possible to guarantee 100% prevention of infection in this pandemic, but we have defined all possible and practical measures in the EASA/ECDC guidelines to make air travel safe again. 
 

A medical face mask (also known as a surgical or procedure mask) is a medical device covering the mouth, nose and chin ensuring a barrier that limits the transition of an infective agent between the hospital staff and the patient. They are used to prevent large respiratory droplets and splashes from reaching the mouth and the nose of the wearer and help reduce and/or control at the source the spread of large respiratory droplets from the person wearing the face mask. Medical masks comply with the requirements defined in European Standard EN 14683:2019+AC:2019. Non-medical face masks (or ‘community’ masks) include various forms of self-made and commercially available masks, including re-usable face covers made of cloth, other textiles and other disposable materials. They are not standardised and are not intended for use in healthcare settings or by healthcare professionals. Non-medical face masks are in use and recommended in some EU/EEA countries. Limited indirect evidence from experimental studies has shown that non-medical face masks may decrease the release to the environment of respiratory droplets, although there was conflicting evidence about the relative efficiency of medical versus non-medical face masks.

A non-medical face mask (or ‘community’ mask) include various forms of self-made and commercially available masks, including re-usable face covers made of cloth, other textiles and other disposable materials. They are not standardised and are not intended for use in healthcare settings or by healthcare professionals. Non-medical face masks are in use and recommended in some EU/EEA countries. Limited indirect evidence from experimental studies has shown that non-medical face masks may decrease the release to the environment of respiratory droplets, although there was conflicting evidence about the relative efficiency of medical versus non-medical face masks.

Passengers should bring a sufficient supply of medical face masks for the entire duration of their journey. Airports have been encouraged to offer the purchase of masks at their premises (e.g. vending machines) in case passengers have been unable to acquire sufficient medical face masks beforehand. We recommend to contact the departure airport and clarify this issue before your journey.

Where hand hygiene – washing with water and soap - is not possible, use alcohol based hand sanitising solution.

Hand hygiene – washing of hands with soap – should be reinforced at all times and is of paramount importance. The wearing of gloves may lead to a false sense of security and be counterproductive unless you are very strict about following the correct measures for glove wearing. If you choose to wear disposable gloves, they should be regularly changed and the used ones disposed of safely. Note that not all types of reusable gloves can be disinfected with alcohol-based solution. Some can deteriorate and contribute to spreading contamination. The disinfection of gloves is therefore not recommended. On the whole, it is better for passengers to follow good hand hygiene than to wear gloves.

Limiting direct contact (touch) with surfaces at the airport and in the aircraft is a good way to protect yourself.

Yes, the wearing of medical face masks is recommended for all passengers and persons within the airport and aircraft, from the moment they enter the terminal building at the departure airport until they exit the terminal building at the destination airport. 

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for more  information.

Airports and airlines have been asked to instruct passengers on the safe disposal of used medical face masks: for example through no-touch bins and single-use waste bags. Please look for specific information on this during your journey.

Although medical face masks may contain plastic fibers or paper, they are not recyclable.

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for more  information.

In addition, keep your eyes and ears open! Airports and airlines will regularly instruct passengers via signs and announcements about the preventive measures in place at various stages of the journey in the airport and on board the aircraft. You will also be advised of the consequences of not adhering to such measures.

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for more  information.

You should check government information in the country where you live (or whose citizenship you hold) which should give an overview of what travel restrictions apply for its residents.

Contact the airline you are flying with to check preventive measures and possible quarantine measures for each country you plan to visit on your trip. 

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for more  information.

Although the EU has put measures into place to help facilitate safe and free movement inside the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic, Member States’ local public health authorities can impose additional restrictions such as quarantine for unvaccinated passengers if they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard public health.

Passenger rights in this and any other circumstance are outside of EASA’s responsibilities. We advise you to consult the dedicated European Commission site 'Travel during the coronavirus pandemic', where you will find useful information regarding the current COVID-19 situation, including whom to contact if you are not satisfied with the answer/support you receive from your airline.

Preventive measures onboard such as orientation and design of the seats, HEPA filters and using own masks decreases the risk of contamination during flight even if airline policies do not require such measures.

Airlines and airport operators, individually or via their representative bodies, should provide health promotional materials in advance as well as on board the aircraft, explaining all the risk mitigation measures put in place, such as the wearing of medical face masks, hygiene measures, reduced service, air filtration, ventilation and exchange, to reassure passengers and increase their adherence to the implemented measures. 

Preventive measures are updated on a frequent basis, in line with the development of the pandemic. Make sure you check with the relevant airlines, airports and national authorities  right before you start your travel.

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for more  information.

Medical face masks should be worn. “Community” or “hand-made” masks are not permitted according to the guidelines. This is because a medical face mask is manufactured to a known standard. This is not true for community masks and handmade masks. The primary reason for wearing a mask is to stop transfer of the virus to other people – bearing in mind that some people may have the virus but show no symptoms. Therefore, everyone should wear a medical face mask to ensure a standard level of protection. 

Where higher standards for masks are required on national level, travellers should comply with such standards.

Yes. Physical distancing between individuals of at least 1 metre is recommended. 

In general, everyone should wear a medical face mask at all times throughout the journey, but children below 12 years old and people having a medical reason for not wearing face masks can be exempted.

Generally, medical reasons allowing exemptions in wearing a face mask should be documented in a medical certificate issued by an appropriate specialist and are usually limited to: 

• Severe Restrictive Lung Disease with a forced vital capacity (FVC) threshold of 55% predicted and a DLCO threshold of 40% or with a GAP index higher than 5. 
• Mental or physical disabilities that would not allow the proper use of a face mask.

Passengers with such exemptions should be required to undertake a SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test within the 48 hours preceding the scheduled departure time and present the negative result at boarding in order to reduce the risk of being infectious during the flight. In this respect aircraft operators should provide clear information to all their passengers, and allow for flexibility in case of positive test results.

For children the age threshold for wearing a mask might differ, please consult the requirement in the relevant countries.

It is recommended to wear a medical face mask for the entire duration of the journey.

Typically, medical face masks should be replaced after 4 hours (unless otherwise advised by the manufacturer), or after a shorter period if they have become wet or soiled. For this reason, please evaluate the duration of your journey and take with yourself a sufficient number of medical face masks for the entire duration of your journey.

The European Commission has launched a website called ‘Re-open EU’, with up-to-date information on the travel and health situation for European countries.

You can also consult the ‘SARS-CoV-2 variants dashboard’ updated and maintained by the European Centre  for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for more information.

Otherwise contact the relevant authorities in the country of departure and arrival.

Yes, all passengers need to follow and observe the COVID-19 protocol, even if you are fully vaccinated. This will help all of us to stay safe during travelling.

This will vary, please consult the applicable national requirements for the country of destination.

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for more  information.

The airline is required to inform their passengers if any symptomatic passengers have been identified in the airport by the public health authorities. Such passengers will not be allowed to continue their travel if the symptoms observed indicate that they may have COVID-19. 

If you show symptoms at any time in the 14 days before your flight, you should take action as soon as possible and not even travel to the airport. Instead you should:

• Inform your general practitioner and your local health authorities, who may recommend a test for COVID-19. 
• Contact your airline to advise them you are not able to travel
• Ask to rebook your flight or request a refund. In many cases, this will be possible without penalty provided you contact the airline no later than 6 hours before the flight, and provide a doctor’s certificate confirming suspicion of COVID-19 infection. 
• Your airline will advise you on the precise rebooking or reimbursement procedures, and their applicability for your case. 
   

EASA has recommended that airlines and airports inform passengers of the various COVID-19 measures before they leave for the airport. In particular, this includes the very important information that you should not even come to the airport if you have COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19, have been in recent contact with someone who is infected or are in quarantine. Symptoms associated with COVID-19:

• Fever or chills,
• Cough,
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing,
• Fatigue,
• Muscle or body aches,
• Headache,
• New loss of taste or smell,
• Sore throat,
• Congestion or runny nose,
• Nausea or vomiting,
• Diarrhoea.

If you have COVID-19 compatible symptoms, don’t  come to the airport regardless if you are vaccinated or not, or if you have recovered from COVID-19 , unless you have a negative RADT  or RT-PCR test performed within the last 24 hours. Self-administered tests will not be accepted.

Where possible, travellers should avoid contact and unnecessary touching of surfaces in all situations, to minimise the spread of COVID-19. Airports and airlines have been made aware of the need for enhanced cleaning activities both in volume and frequency and for increased ventilation of facilities. EASA has also issued special instructions with respect to aircraft disinfection.

The EASA guidelines recommend the regular cleaning and disinfecting of all frequently touched surfaces (e.g. door handles, banister rails, buttons). Particular attention should also be paid to plastic security screening trays as well as to facilities such as airport lavatories. Hand sanitiser points should be made readily available.

Airport operators have been advised to ensure proper air ventilation of their facilities. This includes minimising the percentage of air recirculation and favouring when possible the use of fresh air, in accordance with international guidance for ventilation of indoor public spaces.

Furthermore, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems should be optimised to ensure a high rate of air change. In older facilities, subject to airport/terminal construction and meteorological conditions, windows can be kept open for additional supply of fresh air, subject to the absence of horizontal air flows.

Airlines are required to perform the cleaning and disinfection of their aircraft in accordance with the EASA Aircraft cleaning and disinfection guidance.

Wherever possible, you should use mobile or online facilities to check in before you get to the airport, as this shortens the process at the airport.

If you need to check in at the airport, you should follow local instructions to use self-check-in kiosks or proceed to a check-in counter. 

Airlines and airports are setting up their facilities to ensure that physical distancing can be respected wherever feasible, especially during check-in, security check, pre-boarding and boarding. When the recommended physical distancing of 1.5 metres is not possible -due to infrastructure or operational constraints, passengers must follow the additional risk mitigation measures such as hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.

Passengers should look for floor markings or signs indicating the arrangements in that particular location. 

Please check with the airport before setting out on your journey, for example by checking its website. Airports should advise passengers about how to make use of airport facilities and services, in line with national regulations. 

Please check with your airline on checked baggage allowances.

Airlines are asking passengers to take minimal hand luggage into the cabin. This will speed up the boarding and disembarking process and also reduce the movement in the cabin, and therefore the potential spread of the virus.  Where possible, airlines will make available self-check-in facilities for checked baggage, so as to avoid interaction with staff at check-in counters. 

Many airlines are promoting the carriage of luggage in the cargo compartments by implementing incentive policies. Please make sure that any luggage which will be checked in does not contain any valuable or essential items (such as cash, credit cards, keys, medicines, unreplaceable items of sentimental value), lithium batteries (in equipment or stand-alone) or other prohibited items. Have a look at  EASA's safety checklist 'Preparing your luggage - Security requirements when packing'.

Some airports have special baggage disinfection measures in place. You should bear this in mind when choosing which check-in luggage to take on your trip and avoid bags that could be damaged or disfigured if treated with disinfectant. For more information, contact your airline and the airports you will depart from, arrive at and transit through. 

You can carry, in accordance to the security rules, liquids/gels  in individual containers with a capacity of 100 ml or less, all of them shall be contained in a transparent re-sealable plastic bag which capacity shall not exceed one litre.

However, due to COVID, some authorities have allowed for additional and temporary exemptions with regard to the carriage of sanitizer gels / liquids. Therefore, if you intend to take sanitizing gels in the amount exceeding the standard restrictions, please contact the airport of your departure or the airline you are flying with to obtain updated detailed information on the applicable regulations.

For more information on boarding procedures, please contact your airline.

Check the website of your departure airport and with your airline for information. You need to allow sufficient time to  cover all steps needed: checking in your luggage, at the security check, passport control (if required), at the gate and the boarding of your flight. 

Airlines have been provided with specialist technical instructions to ensure the air quality in the cabin is as high as possible. The air quality in the cabin is higher than many of us regularly breathe on the ground. This is because the entire air supply is typically exchanged every 3-5 minutes. In addition, most modern aircraft use high quality filters, known as HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters, which are fine enough to trap the viral load and release clean air. 

Passengers themselves are expected to behave responsibly for their own welfare and for the good of their fellow passengers. In particular, you will be expected to adopt:

• Hand hygiene, particularly before eating or drinking and after use of the toilet
• Appropriate use of medical face masks 
• Respiratory etiquette – cough or sneeze into a paper towel or flexed elbow
• Limiting contact – do not touch cabin surfaces unnecessarily and try to stay in the seat as much as possible
• Reducing the use of individual air supply nozzles as far as  possible, unless otherwise advised by the cabin crew on your flight

Please contact your airline for any information about the on-board service. 

In case of emergency, follow the instructions as shown during the safety demonstration. If cabin pressure is lost and oxygen masks are released, passengers should remove their medical face masks before putting on the aircraft oxygen masks and follow any further instructions from the air crew. As always, remember to secure your own supply of oxygen before helping others, such as children. Note that air crew members will remove their protective face masks in case of any emergency, so as to facilitate the communication of instructions to passengers.

Airlines will put measures into place to manage the passenger use of lavatories so as to avoid passengers queuing in the aisle or the galleys for the use of the lavatories.  Please also note that, in some aircraft, a lavatory may be reserved for crew use only.

The quality of air provided during a flight is very high. This is due to frequent exchange of air (the entire air supply is typically exchanged every 3-5 minutes) and the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters which are used on board of most modern aircraft. Airlines and airport operators will work together to ensure that passengers are not kept on board an aircraft without proper ventilation for longer than 30 minutes.

General cabin safety recommendations remain valid. Passengers should remain seated with their seatbelt fastened as far as possible.

Passengers who do not voluntarily follow the COVID-19 procedures or abide by crew instructions will be treated as “unruly passengers”, the term used in the industry for passengers who misbehave on board, for example through intoxication or through verbal or physical altercations with others on board.

This can lead to immediate action on board to curtail such activities, with possible further consequences on landing, depending on the local regulations. 

Have a look at our communication "Not On My Flight".

Contact your airline or consult its website in advance to check on in-flight services for your flight. 

Please check with your airline ahead of travel.

Essential services onboard are allowed, for more information regarding particular items, please contact your airline.

Passengers should ensure sufficient supply of medical face masks for the duration of their journey. However, airlines may carry a sufficient number of medical face masks on board to provide to passengers, especially for long-haul flights where the need to change masks may be advised by public health authorities. Speak to your cabin crew if you discover you need an additional mask while on board the aircraft.

The general process remains the same, but do not forget to follow all preventive measures, including physical distancing, hand hygiene and wearing a medical face mask also at the arrival airport.

Passengers should leave the arrival terminal as soon as possible after completing any border formalities and collecting their checked luggage so as to minimise the possibility of transmission of COVID-19.

The use of baggage delivery services, where the passenger’s baggage can be delivered directly to their hotel or home, are encouraged.

Used face masks should be discarded safely in a separate tightly closed waste bag, which can be disposed as regular waste. Please note that although they may contain plastic fibers or paper, medical face masks are not recyclable.

Passengers showing symptoms following the assessment and who are suspected as being positive for COVID-19, will be required to comply with the instructions of the local public health authorities in terms of testing, transport and quarantine.

Check ‘Re-Open EU’ for more details.

Please check with your destination airport for more information.

Passenger Locator Forms (PLFs) are used by public health authorities to facilitate cross border contact tracing in case travellers are exposed to an infectious disease during their travel by plane, ship (cruise/ferry), rail, bus or automobile. Information that travellers provide in PLFs can be used by public health authorities in the departure, transit and destination countries to rapidly contact travellers and other close contacts of an infected person, with the goal of protecting the health of travellers’ and their contacts, as well as preventing further disease spread.

Check the web-based application ‘European Digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF)’ for more information on the form.

Please consult the European Commission’s ‘Travel during the coronavirus pandemic’ page for additional information.