1 Face-covering policy for passengers with disabilities travelling during a pandemic
Face-covering policy for passengers with
disabilities travelling during a pandemic
Introduction
• The requirement to wear face masks onboard aircraft can be imposed by government regulations,
and/or by a carrier’s contract of carriage.
• Some government regulations regarding accessibility in air travel do not prohibit air carriers from
assessing whether a passenger is fit-to-fly. They provide grounds for requiring a medical
clearance to support that assessment in situations where the person in question has a medical
condition or communicable disease that threatens his or her safe transportation or the health of
other passengers and the crew.
• Other government regulations regarding accessibility in air travel do not address communicable
diseases, as this is a topic separate from disability
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.
• Recently, state regulators and airlines have expressed concerns over a possible increase in non-
compliance from passengers with health regulations (including those on the wearing of face
masks or equivalent face shields). Unfortunately, several member airlines have had to deal with
incidents, some of which received high profile reporting in social media for passengers who have
refused to wear a face covering.
• At the same time denied boarding and passenger bans have raised criticism on airlines’ policies
that restrict people with disabilities from accessing air transportation as a violation of anti-
discrimination and disability rights regulations.
• This paper intends to clarify the position of IATA members on face-covering for passengers who
have disabilities (or underlying medical conditions) that make them unable to wear face-coverings.
IATA policy position
• IATA recognizes that face-covering for passengers, ground staff, and cabin crew is a critical part
of a layered approach to biosafety to allow passengers to travel safely during a pandemic.
• Airlines should provide reasonable accommodation to passengers aligned with measures
recommended by states’ health authorities. Provision of such accommodation must be consistent
with operational feasibility and without compromising the safety of fellow passengers. This will
help to ensure that all passengers exercise their human rights and their fundamental freedoms in
an equitable manner.
• The type of face-covering (non-medical or medical) should be selected based on the level of risk
and the availability of such masks while taking into consideration the potential risks and
disadvantages of wearing a specific mask type.
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This is the case for European regulation EC1107/2006 and for the Canadian Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR).
