Corona rules: Railway lobby association: Masks must also fall on trains

In view of the planned omission of masks on airplanes, the obligation to wear masks is also being discussed in train traffic.

Corona rules: Railway lobby association: Masks must also fall on trains

In view of the planned omission of masks on airplanes, the obligation to wear masks is also being discussed in train traffic. "If the mask requirement on airplanes is lifted, the same must apply to all other public transport," said the lobby association Pro-Rail Alliance. It is illogical to remove the mask requirement on airplanes but not to lift it for bus and train travel. "The federal government urgently needs to find a uniform solution," said Managing Director Dirk Flege.

On Monday it became known that under pressure from the FDP, the obligation to wear a mask on planes is to be removed from the Infection Protection Act, although it continues to apply nationwide on long-distance trains and can also be imposed by the federal states in local transport. Deutsche Bahn did not comment on the plan. The official requirements for infection protection are being implemented, said a spokesman.

The Pro-Rail Alliance includes environmental and transport associations, as well as the two railway unions EVG (railway and transport union) and GDL (German train drivers’ union). Deutsche Bahn and other railway companies are among their sponsors.

Lufthansa welcomes the planned end of the mask requirement

Meanwhile, Lufthansa has welcomed the plans of the traffic light coalition for a temporary end to the corona mask requirement on airplanes. CEO Carsten Spohr spoke of good news in Frankfurt. "How happy are our employees who no longer have to play mask police. And how happy are almost 300,000 passengers every day who no longer had to wear a mask anywhere else because every other airline ignored it."

According to a draft by the SPD, FDP and Greens, the mask requirement in airplanes should no longer be prescribed nationwide in the Infection Protection Act, unlike initially planned. In the coalition, the FDP had put pressure on an end to the legal requirement on board. According to the amendment, in the future it is still planned that the federal government can impose a mask requirement for passengers and cabin crew with a regulation without the consent of the Bundesrat. At the same time, it should be stipulated nationwide that, in addition to long-distance trains, clinics and nursing homes, FFP2 masks are also compulsory in medical practices.

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