First there is a debate because Chancellor Scholz and Economics Minister Habeck do not wear a mask on the flight to Canada, now the traffic light probably abolishes the mask requirement. A reintroduction by decree is considered unlikely. Elsewhere, people will have to wear a mask in the future.
Under pressure from the FDP, the originally planned mask requirement in air traffic has been removed from the Infection Protection Act, as the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (RND) reported with reference to coalition groups. Instead, it was therefore agreed between the SPD, Greens and FDP that Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach would be given an authorization basis to be able to issue an ordinance requiring masks on airplanes.
In the circles, however, it was pointed out that a regulation also requires the approval of all departments, including the FDP-led ministries. "This means that the mask requirement in air traffic is de facto dead," the RND said. In addition, according to the information, it was agreed that patients will also have to wear FFP2 masks in medical practices in the future, not just in clinics and care facilities.
The FDP criticized the mask requirement in air traffic after it became known at the end of August that Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Robert Habeck had not worn a mask on board a government plane on the way to a visit to Canada. This was in line with the guidelines of the Bundeswehr flight readiness service, and a negative PCR test was also required for all passengers. Nevertheless, the current legal situation is that masks are compulsory in commercial air traffic.
The new version of the Infection Protection Act is necessary because all previous protection regulations expire at the end of September. The federal cabinet had launched a draft that generally provides for more extensive rules on masks and tests from October 1st to April 7th, 2023. The federal states should be able to impose further protective requirements and expand them in a critical situation.
