British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have removed the requirement to wear masks onboard flights to the US.
Both UK-based carriers have responded to a US judge on Monday (18 April) striking down the federal requirement that travellers must wear masks on commercial aircraft and in airports.
Following this ruling, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it would no longer enforce the federal mandate requiring masks onboard aircraft.
BA and Virgin decided in March to make wearing face masks a matter of “personal choice” on their flights – except when travelling to destinations which still require face coverings to be worn by passengers, which had been the case with the US until Monday.
Virgin Atlantic said in a statement: “Effective immediately, face masks will be a personal choice for our customers and people travelling in either direction between the UK and the United States.
“This aligns with our existing mask policy on routes where international regulations around mask-wearing do not apply, such as between the UK and the Caribbean.”
Passengers aged 12 and above travelling to destinations such as Delhi, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, Mumbai, Shanghai and Tel Aviv are still required to wear masks onboard Virgin flights.
BA has also updated its website to confirm that face masks are no longer required for passengers flying to and from the US.
Other major European airlines, including Lufthansa and Air France, continue to require face masks to be worn on all flights.
Most US carriers, including Alaska, American, Delta, United and Southwest have already announced that they no longer require passengers or crew to wear masks during domestic flights.