ANA to require all passengers to wear face masks aboard aircraft from June

TOKYO — One of Japan's major airlines plans to make the wearing of face masks compulsory as the industry shifts toward operating in a new coronavirus pandemic normal.

From June, All Nippon Airways Co will require all passengers to wear face masks inside airports and aboard aircraft.

Anyone who refuses will be barred from boarding, meaning ANA is going a step further than an aviation industry body guideline that advises a "request" be made that passengers mask up.

Cabin crew will wear face masks and ground staff will wear face shields as well, it said. Major airlines, including ANA, have also installed plastic curtains at check-in counters.

The aviation industry has been hit hard by the virus pandemic, and many airlines are keen to attract business by eliminating passenger concern about infection, even if it means enforcing stricter measures than recommended.

Japan Airlines Co and Skymark Airlines Inc said they will refrain from allocating passengers into adjacent seats to allow some measure of social distancing to be maintained. JAL said the measure is temporary and is aimed at easing people's concern about coming into close contact with fellow passengers.

The International Air Transport Association does not recommend such a measure, saying, "Mask-wearing by passengers and crew will reduce the already low risk, while avoiding the dramatic cost increases to air travel that onboard social distancing measures would bring."

It said the risk of virus transmission on aircraft is low compared to other modes of public transport, possibly due to the layout which has passengers all facing forward, airflow rates being high and the use of high-efficiency particulate air filters in cabins.

Other airlines around the globe have taken even more drastic steps, with Qatar Airways making flight attendants wear full-body protection suits and the Philippines' Cebu Pacific Air set to make its attendants take antibody tests for the virus.

Finland's Finnair Plc has decided to request passengers check in online to avoid crowding at airports and has ended priority boarding, instead inviting passengers seated at the rear of the plane to board first.

Japanese airlines have yet to announce whether they will implement more stringent anti-virus steps for their international routes that involve longer flight times and therefore an increased risk of infection.

© KYODO