Masks on QF International Flights

Saw this article in SMH about QF lifting mask mandate on certain international flights where the destination doesn't require masks to be worn. Will be interesting to see how this plays out and how many people keep wearing them, and how many people stop wearing them even on flights when they are meant to be required.

Qantas to lift mask requirement on some international flights

Qantas says it will soon allow passengers to travel without masks on some international flights, even though face coverings remain compulsory on all domestic services.

www.smh.com.au

 

[offshore171]

Some progress on the return to normality. Also, the US has now dropped the requirement for pre-departure tests.

 

[LadyC]

Can't see the domestic requirement holding for much longer - it will be too difficult to manage. Or the domestic airlines may just take the same approach as some of the European airlines, they won't enforce it.

 

[Daver6]

I'm failing to see the logic here. If QF or the government deem wearing a mask on domestic flights is beneficial then just because a foreign country says its optional, QF then makes it optional. Does not make sense!

Head of Monash University’s epidemiological modelling unit Associate Professor James Trauer said international flights were among the most high-risk settings, so he believed it would be safer to keep the mandate in force.

“Aeroplane cabins are a particularly high-risk environment because of the recirculated air,” Trauer said. “You’ve also got people in very close proximity, and you’re likely to have some people with COVID ... it’s probably one of the last places that you’d remove the requirements.”

My bolding in the quote. I was under the impression that the air is essentially refreshed every couple of minutes. Which is it?

 

[Franky]

Some progress on the return to normality. Also, the US has now dropped the requirement for pre-departure tests.

As well as the requirement to wear a mask on aircraft…

 

[sqrt()]

I'm failing to see the logic here. If QF or the government deem wearing a mask on domestic flights is beneficial then just because a foreign country says its optional, QF then makes it optional. Does not make sense!



My bolding in the quote. I was under the impression that the air is essentially refreshed every couple of minutes. Which is it?

Lmao. I thought the whole point was that recirculated air gets filtered each time it "recirculates."

 

[drron]

I'm failing to see the logic here. If QF or the government deem wearing a mask on domestic flights is beneficial then just because a foreign country says its optional, QF then makes it optional. Does not make sense!



My bolding in the quote. I was under the impression that the air is essentially refreshed every couple of minutes. Which is it?

Unless you are wearing a fitted N95 mask the HEPA filter is more effective than the mask you are wearing. ti be more effective than the HEPA filtering you need to be wearing a fitted N100 mask. It is all theatre.
There are guides how to make a mask just as effective as a N95 mask using a HEPA filter.

HEPA Filters Are Effective Materials for DIY Face Masks - Smart Air

HEPAs are some of the highest-performing filters out there, so we experimented in using HEPA filters to make DIY masks in this how-to guide.

smartairfilters.com

If you really want to learn about N95 masks and their efficiency here is a long article.

Effectiveness of N95 Masks against SARS-CoV-2: Performance Efficiency, Concerns, and Future Directions

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, which is caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has continued to spread around the world since December 2019. Healthcare workers and other medical first responders ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

bottom line if you want your N95 mask to be effective it must be fitted and changed regularly. with a proviso that even if properly fitted our face is constantly changing shape with positioning and different facial expressions.

Australian research is that the addition of HEPA filtering is added to N95 mask wearing the results are better.

Monash study finds PPE in conjunction with HEPA filtration offers health workers the best protection

A Monash University study has demonstrated that full PPE, involving a fit-tested N95 mask, in conjunction with a HEPA filtration system, offers health workers in a hospital setting the best protection against virus aerosol exposure.

www.monash.edu

Again the proviso is that the maintenance of the HEPA filters by the airlines is correctly done

Of course the Professor you quote comes from Monash who conducted the study on added HEPA filters. was he unaware of that research?

 

[sudoer]

Or the domestic airlines may just take the same approach as some of the European airlines, they won't enforce it.

Apparently already the case on VA!

 

[RichardMEL]

It was reported today that mask mandates IN AIRPORTS (in aus) will be dropped come Saturday - but NOT on aircraft. This makes very little sense to me. If it's OK to go maskless in airports then surely planes are not that much different. I mean you have enough crowding (at times) at check in, gate areas etc. seems to me weird to drop at airports but not inflight. I personally am 50/50 on in flight but given the whole world is or has dropped the requirement it won't last much longer here either way (and of course those who want to keep wearing them can, and you'd hope anyone with symptoms of a flu or anything else would be considerate towards others and mask up, but I digress).

I'd note I saw some VERY lax mask wearing in two QLD airports (CNS and OOL) in recent weeks - certainly in check-in areas and in the lounge if a glass was on the next table seemed like a good enough reason to not wear a mask despite the apparent requirement to (not a complaint - just observations - I get it).. there certainly was minimal if any requests for people to wear masks. In fact at CNS signs outside say something like "Please wear a mask in the terminal" rather than you must which I found curious.

I would say by the time people got to gates most were masked up and all good on board the aircraft I was on bar one individual on one flight who may or may not have had an exemption or whatever. as I boarded after him it's entirely possible it was already discussed (and none of my business of course).

Anyway I think all of this points to the mask requirements on domestic flights not lasting much longer tbh. I actually would have thought it would be gone by the upcoming school holidays. We'll see.

 

[cmon0005]

I hope this comes into effect for my flight to the US in a months time.

 

[Ade]

I work in CBR airport, few days a week, and I see that almost 80% of the pax don't have a mask at security or when roaming about the airport. No one is enforcing pax to wear a mask when in the airport. They are "suddenly" reminded that they need a max when their flight is boarding. They rush to the retain outlets in the airport asking for a mask.

When QF does a boarding announcement at the airport, the announcement reminds pax that wearing a mask & practising social distancing is mandatory when scanning their BPs, waiting on the bridge & when in the plane. There is no mention of wearing a mask when inside the terminal. Masks must stay on for the entire duration of the flights. Masks can be removed briefly when eating/drinking.

VA boarding announcements - if I had observed correctly, don't talk about masks or social distancing. They call elites, those that help boarding to come forward. No mention of masks or social distancing.

I don't think Pelican, Link or Rex announcements make any mention of the masks or social distancing.

A few months back when flying out of CBR, I have seen both airline staff, security & at times, AFP patrolling the terminal, reminding pax to wear a mask. This doesn't happen any more.

 

[sqrt()]

I work in CBR airport, few days a week, and I see that almost 80% of the pax don't have a mask at security or when roaming about the airport. No one is enforcing pax to wear a mask when in the airport. They are "suddenly" reminded that they need a max when their flight is boarding. They rush to the retain outlets in the airport asking for a mask.

When QF does a boarding announcement at the airport, the announcement reminds pax that wearing a mask & practising social distancing is mandatory when scanning their BPs, waiting on the bridge & when in the plane. There is no mention of wearing a mask when inside the terminal. Masks must stay on for the entire duration of the flights. Masks can be removed briefly when eating/drinking.

VA boarding announcements - if I had observed correctly, don't talk about masks or social distancing. They call elites, those that help boarding to come forward. No mention of masks or social distancing.

I don't think Pelican, Link or Rex announcements make any mention of the masks or social distancing.

A few months back when flying out of CBR, I have seen both airline staff, security & at times, AFP patrolling the terminal, reminding pax to wear a mask. This doesn't happen any more.

Agree with that assessment of CBR. Possibly even more true in the QP and J lounge.

 

[sudoer]

They are "suddenly" reminded that they need a max when their flight is boarding. They rush to the retain outlets in the airport asking for a mask.

Has Qantas stopped offering 'fly well' packs at the gate?

 

[TheInsider]

Has Qantas stopped offering 'fly well' packs at the gate?

No

 

[Ade]

Has Qantas stopped offering 'fly well' packs at the gate?

They still do. Before each flight the gate agent loads the fly well packs on to the red stand. Most customers don't seem to notice/know this.

 

[Ade]

Possibly even more true in the QP and J lounge.

My experience is different. I was in the CBR QF J lounge last week & the week before. I saw the staff reminding pax to wear a mask when moving about the lounge, say, when the walk from their seats to grab a drink/food, or walk to the facilities or when approaching the lounge desk.

 

[sqrt()]

My experience is different. I was in the CBR QF J lounge last week & the week before. I saw the staff reminding pax to wear a mask when moving about the lounge, say, when the walk from their seats to grab a drink/food, or walk to the facilities or when approaching the lounge desk.

Wow, not doubting you but I haven't seen staff directing people to mask on their way to get chicken cacciatore. I've only been a couple of times in the past couple months so small sample size.

 

[RichardMEL]

On QF flights the announcement upon landing has included "You must continue to wear a mask while disembarking and within the terminal building" - has been pretty consistent on all flights I've been on this year.

But yeah pax coming into and around terminals it seems quite lax. Less so in MEL (I think the reasons for this are obvious) and SYD.

I just reckon if they're going to drop the requirement for airports (and our anecdotal experiences seem to generally back up the lax application and/or enforcement in various places) they might as well do away with in flight too. It just seems nonsensical to me (as I wrote earlier).

 

[JohnK]

So here's hoping Thailand does not lift mask rules but that won't last much longer there either.

Would it be feasible to have a mask section and non-mask section in flight like they did for smoking?

 

[TheInsider]

Would it be feasible to have a mask section and non-mask section in flight like they did for smoking?

No.