Debate about masks on government planes: FDP wants to negotiate about mandatory masks on planes

There was already a dispute about the obligation to wear masks when the first draft of the new Infection Protection Act was drafted. According to a report, the federal government is now taking a step towards the federal states. In particular, the FDP wants to negotiate the obligation to wear masks on airplanes.

The parliamentary group of the FDP also wants to negotiate the obligation to wear masks on airplanes during the deliberations on the new Infection Protection Act, which is to apply from autumn. As soon as the cabinet has decided on a draft for the new set of rules, the FDP wants to talk about it with the coalition partners from the SPD and the Greens, said parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr to the “Spiegel”. “The debate about the obligation to wear masks on airplanes is an example where we still see a need for testing,” he said.

In the government plane without masks

The background to the initiative is a debate about footage from the government plane that Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Robert Habeck used to fly to Canada. It shows that politicians, fellow travelers and journalists on board the plane were not wearing masks.

However, according to a spokesman for the federal government, everyone on board the machine had to show a current negative PCR test. “This ensures a high level of protection,” he said. The Air Force explained that those tested on board their machines were free to wear a mask.

In commercial aviation, masks are compulsory on board aircraft in Germany. However, passengers no longer have to show negative corona tests unless the destination country requires this.

FDP parliamentary group leader Dürr brought up test exceptions for commercial flights to the “Spiegel”. His deputy Alexander Graf Lambsdorff wrote on Twitter that according to the pictures from the government plane, the mask requirement in normal planes could not stay the same.

Cabinet will deliberate on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the cabinet wants to adopt the draft for the new Infection Protection Act. A first version, which had been worked out by the health and justice ministries, had recently caused criticism from the federal states because they considered several planned exceptions to the mask requirement to be unworkable.

Report: Countries should be allowed to make more decisions themselves

In the new draft, the federal government is now taking a step towards the federal states, the editorial network Germany (RND) reported. According to the RND, the federal government is planning fewer exceptions to the mask requirement indoors and wants to give the federal states more leeway. They should therefore be able to decide for themselves whether or not to allow exceptions to the mask requirement for newly vaccinated and recently recovered people.

The previous draft provided for a nationwide mask requirement from October for long-distance and air traffic as well as in hospitals and care facilities. The federal states could have stipulated additional mask requirements for local transport, public interiors, restaurants, sporting and cultural events. Again, the draft provided for nationwide exceptions to the mask requirement, namely for newly vaccinated, recently recovered and currently tested. These exceptions have been a major point of criticism from many countries because they consider them unworkable.

Probably a further exception for those who have been tested

Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek reiterated the criticism from the states: “If the federal government stubbornly sticks to its draft, the chancellor can in future save himself from making statements about an alleged ‘joint project’,” said the CSU politician.

The exceptions to the mask requirement were the first major criticism many countries had of the original draft of the Infection Protection Act. “The requirement that, in the event of a mask requirement indoors, there must be exceptions for tested, ‘freshly’ vaccinated and recovered people cannot be implemented in prison,” said Holetschek. “That’s why they have to be dispensed with.”

According to the RND report, despite the federal concessions, one group should continue to be exempt from the mask requirement: newly tested people.

The federal government is also not planning any changes to the second major point of criticism from the federal states: the criteria from which they can adopt tougher corona protection measures. Holetschek had demanded clear guidelines from the federal government, because otherwise each country could interpret the regulations differently – there was a risk of a patchwork quilt. According to the RND, however, there are still no specific parameters as to when certain protection concepts should come into force.

Bundestag on the train

After the ministers in the Federal Cabinet have passed the so-called drafting aid, it is the turn of the coalition factions – they must then draw up a draft law. Points on which the federal and state governments still disagree could be cleared up at this stage, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health. The current Infection Protection Act expires at the end of September.