New rules on mask wearing for flights across Europe are set to change within days in a huge boost for Irish holidaymakers.
This comes after The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control issued updated safety advice on Wednesday.
However, while the general rule will be dropped from May 16, masks must still be worn on flights to European countries where their governments still require mandatory mask wearing on public transport.
READ MORE: Irish holidaymakers to get huge boost within days as face mask advice for flights to Europe dropped
This will have an impact on Irish passengers jetting away to counties like Spain, Portugal and France.
The airline of choice for many people looking to escape to the sun at a bargain price is Ryanair, and the airline has updated its policy on mask wearing in recent days.
Ryanair have announced that facemasks will remain mandatory when travelling to and from 15 European destinations.
This list includes:
- Austria
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Portugal
- Spain
In a statement released on Thursday Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson said: “We welcome this rule relaxation from EASA and the ECDC effective from Monday, 16th May 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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