Covid 19 coronavirus: Pilots call for compulsory mask use on domestic flights

The New Zealand Airline Pilots Association has been calling for mandatory use for months and restated the plea today after the latest Covid-19 scare in Auckland. "I struggle to understand why they're not mandatory on all forms of public transports - taxis, buses and planes," association president Andrew Ridling said. Epidemiologist Michael Baker Friday also repeated his call for compulsory mask use on planes and other public transport. The requirement to wear masks on planes was dropped by the Government when Auckland moved down alert levels after the August resurgence although masks are encouraged and compulsory use is being reviewed as part of the response to the latest community case of Covid. Ridling said the Government needed to go further. "I think it should happen now," said Ridling, who had just flown from Christchurch to Auckland this morning on a flight where about half the passengers were wearing masks. Ridling said masks would help prevent stepping back to requiring social distancing on passenger planes. On jets, this meant not selling the middle seat, which made the economics of running flights marginal and threatened airline profits and more jobs.<br/>