Heathrow airport scraps mask mandate

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Face coverings at Heathrow will no longer be mandatory, though the airport “strongly encourages those at the airport to continue wearing a face covering – particularly when coming into close contact with others”. The airport’s chief operating officer, Emma Gilthorpe, said: “We’re gearing up for a busy summer travel season, and this change means we can look forward to welcoming our passengers back with a smile as we get them safely away on their journeys.” British Airways and Virgin Atlantic welcomed the move, signalling they will be revising their onboard face covering policies as soon as regulatory requirements for their destinations allow. “For destinations where the wearing of a face covering is not mandated, our customers are able to make a personal choice, and we kindly request everyone respects each other’s preferences.” Corneel Koster, chief customer and operating officer for Virgin Atlantic, said: “As we learn to live with Covid and with the legal requirement to wear a face mask now removed in England, we believe our customers should have the personal choice whether to wear a mask onboard, on routes where international regulations around mask-wearing do not apply. “We encourage everyone to be respectful of fellow passengers’ mask preferences.” “Masks will still be required on many of our routes, including flights operating to or from the United States until 18 April at the earliest.” The news came minutes after the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, announced that the UK passenger locator form and Covid testing rules are to be abandoned on Friday at 4am.