Irish passengers will soon no longer need to wear masks on flights as EU leaders move to ease one of the final Covid rules.
It comes after the advice for the mandatory wearing of face masks in airports and onboard flights across Europe was changed on Wednesday, May 11.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control issued the updated safety advice earlier today - which was welcomed by Irish tourists heading away in the coming weeks.
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They confirmed the move after reviewing the latest situation with Covid-19 across member states, including high vaccination rates and eased restrictions in EU countries.
The update of the joint Aviation Health Safety Protocol also recommended a relaxation of the more stringent measures seen in air operations "which will help relieve the burden on the industry whilst still keeping appropriate measures in place".
The new recommendations will come into effect next Monday, May 16.
Despite this, there are still fifteen countries that have yet to lift the need for masks on public transport, and therefore Irish passengers will still be required to wear a face-covering when travelling to and from:
- Austria
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxemburg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Spain
However, the budget airliner says the countries listed may change their regulations over the next few days.
Welcoming the latest changes, Ryanair boss Eddie Wilson said: "We welcome this rule relaxation from EASA and the ECDC effective from Monday next.
"From that date, face masks will be optional on all Ryanair flights except those flights to/from the 15 EU States where masks remain mandatory on public transport.
"We expect these States to relax their face mask rules over the coming days in line with these new health guidelines from EASA and the ECDC.
"Intending passengers can check the latest EU face mask regulations on the Re-Open EU website."
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