Masks rules - Airline Enforcement?

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I flew VA to Fiji in business from Sydney yesterday and noticed that VA was very relaxed with Covid mask protocols compared to Qantas. The two young passengers adjacent to me removed their mask from shortly after takeoff and pretty much drank the entire flight. The flight crew allowed both passengers to walk around the aircraft, go to the toilet and allowed them to continue to remain maskless right up until disembarkation - well after meal and drink service obviously. The flight crew said nothing to either of them. I highly doubt they were exempt, as they were wearing masks in the airport, waiting gates, customs etc. I thought it was interesting to compare the difference between Qantas and Virgin. Having recently flown Qantas business class, they were very strict with Covid mask protocols - QF will not let you move freely throughout the aircraft without a mask on, and they were constantly telling business passengers that they could only remove their masks intermittently between food and drinks. I’m not sure in the current climate if VA was way too relaxed on this. Maybe they were relaxed because it was an international flight and passengers must receive a Negative result with 72 hours before flying, who knows.
 
Qantas (enforcing) vs VA (not enforcing)?

It's a federal requirement, not an airline decision.

 
I am guessing the rigidity of enforcement depends a lot on the personal style of the cabin crew on the day. Having said that, Covid has been a rollercoaster and rules, attitudes and personal approaches can turn on a sixpence.
 
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I think walking around the entire cabin in front of everyone else who is largely following the rules is pretty poor, for them to say nothing. It’s not like they are out in the street, they are on VA private property, a private business...we respect your opinion on masks if it’s not in agreement with the mandates however these are our own operational requirements so you need to follow etc...

It’s not like Kmart or somewhere where you can be asked to leave etc if you don’t follow the rules, or choose not to. Either mask or exemption. Or AFP can deal with you on the other end.
 
The AFP does not have jurisdiction in Fiji.

Just genuinely curious, I thought jurisdiction on the plane is determined by country of registration of the plane, so AFP would have jurisdiction on VA/QF flights while the plane is in the air no matter where the plane is flying from/to?
 
Just genuinely curious, I thought jurisdiction on the plane is determined by country of registration of the plane, so AFP would have jurisdiction on VA/QF flights while the plane is in the air no matter where the plane is flying from/to?
It seems to me that you are correct as the Tokyo Convention apparently applies. Australia acceded to it in 1970. The relevant bit seems to be "Except as provided in Chapter III, this Convention shall apply in respect of offences committed or acts done by a person on board any aircraft registered in a Contracting State, while that aircraft is in flight or on the surface of the high seas or of any other area outside the territory of any State." It seems that another state would only have 'power'' over an action on board an aircraft overflying their country if something occurred that was covered by the specific wording below -

The criminal jurisdiction of a State in whose airspace the offence was committed, if such State is not the State of registration of the aircraft or the State where the aircraft lands, shall not be exercised in connection with any offence committed on an aircraft in flight, except in the following cases:

(a) if the offence has effect on the territory of such State;(b) if the offence has been committed by or against a national of such State;(c) if the offence is against the national security of such State;(d) if the offence consists of a breach of any rules and regulations relating to the flight and manœuvre of aircraft in force in such State;(e) if the exercise of jurisdiction is necessary to ensure the observance of any obligation of such State under an international agreement.


Amendments to the treaty were negotiated in Montreal in 2014 but Australia does not seem to have signed up to these changes.


 
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It seems to me that you are correct as the Tokyo Convention apparently applies.
The law of the state of registration applies but this does not give the police force of the state of registration jurisdiction in the state of landing. Extradition would be required.
 
I think walking around the entire cabin in front of everyone else who is largely following the rules is pretty poor, for them to say nothing. It’s not like they are out in the street, they are on VA private property, a private business...we respect your opinion on masks if it’s not in agreement with the mandates however these are our own operational requirements so you need to follow etc...

It’s not like Kmart or somewhere where you can be asked to leave etc if you don’t follow the rules, or choose not to. Either mask or exemption. Or AFP can deal with you on the other end.
I tend to agree, he should have been told to mask up when moving about the cabin and visiting the restrooms at minimum.
 
AFP are a walk in the park compared authorities at most ‘other ends’.

A Virgin pilot once radioed ahead about a disruptive pax on a Bali run once. Geez I’m sure they looked after him.
 

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I wonder if this issue is treated differently in the main cabin as opposed to J. From what I've seen it's not heavily policed in J, but maybe that's because most J passengers have a drink in front of them for the majority of the flight lol
 
I wonder if this issue is treated differently in the main cabin as opposed to J. From what I've seen it's not heavily policed in J, but maybe that's because most J passengers have a drink in front of them for the majority of the flight lol
I remember reading on Flyertalk that wearing seatbelts was not enforced in premium cabins. I got a rude awakening (literally) when I discovered this was not so.
 
Ah, an opinion piece from the UK about how unnecessary Covid prevention measures are. How is that working for them right now?
That’s quite the thing though isn’t it: 100K+ cases every day but I don’t recall seeing people desperately queuing for oxygen, nor vacant land being turned into additional cemeteries, as seen in Indonesia earlier this year.
I don’t recall seeing the UK suffering a shortage of wood for cremations as was seen in India.

What I have seen is images of relatives enjoying Xmas and living what appeared to be their fairly normal life in outer suburban London.

So why the fixation on cases? Is the NHS collapsing? Is the long term daily death rate much higher than normal? If not, the UK would appear to be ‘living with covid’. More power to them!
 
Ah, an opinion piece from the UK about how unnecessary Covid prevention measures are. How is that working for them right now?

Actually there’s been some great articles comparing the much maligned Sweden approach v other countries in Europe who locked away their citizens and it turns out the death toll at the end was exactly the same per capita / slightly lower in Sweden. It’s actually incredible reading…
 
I recently flew on Fiji Airways NAN-SYD, and although most passengers were compliant with mask rules, there was one Aussie family near us that wore them around their chin for most of the flight. Another passenger near us was getting agitated about this and discreetly contacted the flight attendants, who responded by making a PA announcement reminding of the mask rules. They never spoke directly to the family and their mask compliance didn't change.
 
Have only travelled QF of late, there was an announcement at the gate and one on board, but from what I could see passengers all did the right thing without fuss.
 
I recently flew on Fiji Airways NAN-SYD, and although most passengers were compliant with mask rules, there was one Aussie family near us that wore them around their chin for most of the flight. Another passenger near us was getting agitated about this and discreetly contacted the flight attendants, who responded by making a PA announcement reminding of the mask rules. They never spoke directly to the family and their mask compliance didn't change.
Perhaps that passenger didn't read that article I posted previously. If someone is taking off their mask for eating and drinking, then it won't make much difference to the chance of catching the virus.
 

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