Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the final stage of England’s exit out of COVID lockdown would see the dropping of face masks but Liverpool’s biggest airlines say ‘keep your mask on’. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s two biggest airlines, easyJet and Ryanair, say passengers will still have to wear face masks on its aircrafts after July 19.

On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the final stage of England’s exit out of COVID-19 lockdown would go ahead as planned on July 19. This means an end to social distancing, compulsory face masks and capacity limits at public venues.

However, individual businesses and organisations can still insist on face masks and easyJet and Ryanair have said that face masks will continue to be mandatory for passengers on flights in and out of the UK.

In a statement easyJet said: “We continue to be guided by our in-house medical adviser and a number of key industry governing bodies that airlines follow including the World Health Organisation, Icao (International Civil Aviation Organisation), Easa (European Union Aviation Safety Agency), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and public health authorities across Europe, and at present their guidance around the wearing of masks onboard remains unchanged.”

And in a similar statement, Ryanair added: “In order to protect the health of our customers and crew, the use of face masks will still be mandatory across all Ryanair flights, regardless of the departing/destination country.”