Singapore will soon eliminate its mandatory mask rules at airports and onboard airplanes. This is huge news from a country that was amongst the most cautious in addressing the pandemic and had the very tighest laws from very early in 2020.
Singapore have announced that indoor masking will no longer be mandatory starting on August 29, 2022, due to the declining infection numbers. While masks will still be required on public transport and in healthcare facilities, masks will no longer be required at Singapore Changi Airport, Seletar Airport, or onboard flights to and from Singapore.
Masks will still be required on some Singapore Airlines flights (as well as on other carriers serving Singapore) depending on the destination country’s rules. Germany, for example, still requires masks onboard flights, so passengers will continue to have to mask on SQ25 and SQ26.
Furthermore, Spain still requires masks onboard, so Singapore Airlines will require masks on its Fifth Freedom flights between Milan and Barcelona, SQ377 and SQ378. Masking polices of other countries, like Indonesia and South Korea, will still mean masking onboard on a selection of flights.
Beyond the falling case numbers, this policy change was driven by the recognition that COVID-19 will not be eradicated, and that COVID-19 is far more easily treatable now than in the past. It’s really the best we can hope for: somehow we must go about living our lives, recognizing that coexistence with the virus is a necessity.
