Recent flyers to and from Europe -- mask usage

I flew from Paris to LA on Monday. I was one of the very, very few passengers wearing a mask.

I flew to Europe in April and again in May and mask wearers were definitely in the minority. I seem to recall a few more people wearing masks on the April trip to Europe but very minimal usage on subsequent trips. I did wear one on my April flight to Europe for 2 reasons - I had the residual cough from a cold and didn't want "side eye" from fellow passengers and I also didn't want to risk catching covid or anything else at the start of my trip.

I can share that for flights within Europe and in European airports, I haven't seen masks worn for months...

Yes I flew to Krakow from Barcelona, and almost no mask.

My travel partner most likely caught covid last week when we were at Krakow airport or during the flight.

Of the flights I took, very few wore masks. Just not much of a thing anymore. You see more wearing them now, than before the pandemic, but not by much.

If there was one on my flight to BUD 3 weeks ago, he/she/they slipped past me with out me seeing him/her/them.

Now, 3 days ago on a flight from BUD to FRA there was one person wearing a ragged looking mask that had probably sat scrunched up in a pocket of his personal item for 2 years. I would be that person. I had a slight cough from allergies and I didn't want to scare too many and get thrown off the flight.

Personally, I don't really care what other people are doing. Mask wearing has become much less common, both here and abroad. That's their choice, but I wear an N95 mask in crowded conditions such as planes and trains to protect myself. Trips are expensive, and I don't want mine ruined by illness if I can avoid it.

We were in Italy in May. We were the only ones wearing masks on flights to and from.
While in Italy, I wore my mask on crowded trains; my husband did not. A few days after we returned home, my husband came down with a light case of COVID. Five days later, I came down with COVID, and have been sick almost three weeks. We are both vaxed. My husband will be in the doghouse for quite some time.

On our recent Air France flights to and from Paris there were a handful of folks with masks on. We were in Business Class so a smaller group to observe. Given I had Covid on the return flight, my fellow passengers should have been happy that I was wearing a well fitted N95 mask which I took off very briefly to eat:)

I was positive on rapid tests for 11 days so it’s not difficult to see how it can spread far and wide….(I masked in all indoor settings).

Airports in both Spain and Italy last month -- along with the actual flights -- had almost no mask usage. I'd say maybe 1 in 30. What I couldn't discern was any pattern among mask users -- they were both young and old; spry and infirmed; black and white; male and female; etc. Which I think suggests the decision to mask is really down to very personal choices and reasons these days.

I didn’t see anyone with a mask on flights to London, and on an Easy Jet to Ljubljana- all during June.

On the street in England , I could count on one hand how many I saw.

Flew to Germany and back in March/April and then flew to London, Bulgaria, Romania and then back to London for my flight back to the US - this was in the last few weeks. Minimal mask usage on all flights. Virtually none. Same with all the trains we took around.

Returned from Germany a week ago and only saw a couple people on the flights (both to and from Europe) wearing masks.

Recent flight to/from Amsterdam from the US, masking in the airport and on the planes was under 10% (maybe under 5%). Some folks were actively coughing & sneezing - cold and allergy season - so it made sense to me to have my N95 mask with me, and to wear if it seemed reasonable. I think that will be a normal trend even years removed from COVID - ear plugs, eye mask, N95, etc sort of stuff.
Once in the Netherlands, masking in general was similar to the US - very low (lower than the airport).

The flight home was similar to the flight there. I'd say it has become relatively "normal" for most folks just to do what they feel best doing and to me, it was really background noise whether someone was wearing a mask or not. I really only paid attention when hearing a cough or sneeze while in a tight place like the plane.

Yes, there were some travelers wearing masks in March when i flew traveled from Richmond to Boston to Athens to Crete and back. My seatmate on the Richmond to Boston flight saw my mask and offered to don hers so I said yes. I wasn't really noticing what others were or weren't wearing except for that seatmate. Wearing masks seems to have become normalized. No one asked me about mine.

Flew Denver-Munich-Ljubljana the end of May. Not a mask in sight. Flew home to Denver just this week from Dubrovnik via Frankfurt and both flights were sans masks also. Saw very few while traveling Slovenia/Croatia. We had no incidences of covid in our group.

Flew home Tuesday. I was just about the only one in the airports (CDG, LHR and SEA) wearing a mask (but wore the mask just in CDG and LHR which were crowded, unlike SEA). I would say it's only about 1 or 2% wearing masks. I went maskless on the Trans-Atlantic and over North America flight. Plane was not much more than half-full and my sense, rightly or wrongly, is that planes are well ventilated and well-filtered. (First flight ever on a 787 - a beautiful and quiet plane.)

Today, I am getting cold symptoms. Tested negative for COVID, but will test again in a couple of days.

Flights in early May from Colorado to Ireland, connecting in London, then in early June from Ireland to London, then London to Colorado, were virtually maskless. I think most of the flight attendants on one of the Aer Lingus flights wore masks, but none of the passengers. On the flight home from London, one young woman (college age) had a mask on, but I saw no one else in basic coach wearing a mask.

Heathrow had a few people wearing masks as they walked around the airport. Maybe a few sitting in seats, waiting for their gate number to eventually be shown on the monitors. None of the Security screening personnel that I saw had masks.

I qualified for, and got my most recent Covid booster vaccine in April. I just saw on the News this week that less than 18% of Americans got boosters last year. Wonder what the percentage is for Europeans?

In April, at AMS, my spouse and I were two of the few masking. While waiting to board the plane we changed seats several times as everywhere that we found a free seat there was someone unmasked, obviously very sick (not allergy sniffles), hacking their heads off. We came across one woman, laying down on several seats, curled up in a ball, continually coughing. Unmasked. Yikes!

Settling into our seats on the plane Amsterdam to Keflavik, I scanned our cabin and i noticed that we were the only ones wearing masks. The very sick lady was not on our flight.

On the three week trip we were the small minority of masked people on planes, on public transit and in high density situations.

At this point, I think everyone should do what’s comfortable, mask, don’t mask. However, I would hope that very sick people would use some common sense.

Full disclosure: Before 2020, I was that woman on the plane in nitrile gloves wiping down the seat and tray table before I sat down. I will continue to use my gloves and Clorox wipes and mask in airports and on transit at home and away.

In part answer to Cyn's question in the UK they have heavily cut the number of people who qualify for ongoing boosters. As I understand it, correct me if I'm wrong, anyone in the US can get a booster every x months. In the UK it is now only the most vulnerable cohorts.
Everyone over 60 has had flu jabs for the last 3 years, now that is back to over 65 and most vulnerable.

Jen, we are the same on flights! Having worked in healthcare for 30+ years, I try very hard to avoid all bugs while travelling. Norovirus spoiled my time in Budapest some years ago so some basic steps can at least reduce the risk.

It's certainly disconcerting when someone nearby is coughing, especially if it's a long flight. I recently got sick in this way.

edit: Daggone it now I have sinusitis. Darn that person coughing nearby on the plane.

Two points: We are fully boosted for COVID but still got COVID. It wasn't severe but we felt like poop for about 5 days. Also, as in my case now, you can still get quite sick from other airborne viruses. No, don't be paranoid, but if you've spent thousands of $$ on a trip it might be wise to insure yourself by masking indoors.

To isn31c: correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that the U.S. government’s announcement in early 2023 was that the latest Covid booster vaccination was only available in the U.S.A. to seniors over 65, and the most vulnerable. I qualified, but my husband didn’t, before our Ireland trip in May.

As for Americans getting a booster shot every X months, that’s not my understanding. Since late 2020, there have been occasional announcements that citizens would be allowed to get the latest booster. Sometimes there were age or other restrictions, sometimes it was anyone. A person’s health insurance, plus the vaccination provider, determined if there was any out-of-pocket cost to the patient for the jab.

But there’s been no program for regularly scheduled new shots. The thing is, if only 1 American in 6 bothered to get a booster, most people here aren’t bothering. For Americans, they seemingly can’t give shots away. Local libraries were supplying free masks and home Covid test kits for some time, but I believe that’s dwindling somewhat now, too.

I wonder whether the vaccination percentage is any higher for Americans on flights, than the overall national average? There’s been no limit on eligibility for flu shots that I know of in the U.S., but I wonder whether many people have not been getting those, either.

Oh, at special exhibits in London at the V&A (Donatello - excellent!) and at the British Museum (Persian Luxury and Power - pretty good), there were always one or two people wandering around just coughing, coughing, coughing. No mask, no covering their mouth. And one or two people wearing masks.

I flew to Palermo in April: three flights to get there and two to come home.
I tried to keep my KN95 Mask on as much as possible.
About a third of the other passengers wore masks.
Last trip to Italy in Sept ‘22 I got Covid on my last day, even with masking rules still in place there, and having had four Covid vaccinations then.
I’ve now had a fifth shot, and want to stay as healthy as I can.
Here in Canada we can have a booster every six months, and the health authorities inform you by email ( after you first register to be in the system for this) , when you are due for your next, if you do wish to have one.
There are certain criteria such as age, vulnerability, long term care residents.

I see a few people out shopping with masks on still.

On June 9th we flew from Toronto to Venice. I didn't see anyone on our flight masking and very few in the terminal. And I can't recall seeing anyone masking out and about since we've been here.

Cyn,
That's interesting, as you read on here about US people scheduling their travels round their vaccinations, and having had up to 6 or even 7.
I've had three, the last about 15 months ago and as far as I know that is the last I personally qualify for. All paid for by the government, not having to go through medical insurance. I don't think we can even pay for further boosters through insurance.
I am aware of forum guidelines so hope I am not breaching them.

I was one of a very few wearing a N95 mask on the flights PHX to IAH to MUC. I’m also one of the very few wearing a mask on trains, local transit and at museums.

Last night at the Vienna Opera, there were several people with awful coughs, not wearing masks. On the RS tour I just finished, several people, including me, routinely wore masks.

We carry a mask at all times, wearing it if we have a cough or someone near us is coughing. Haven’t gotten Covid but have gotten the dreaded cough symptoms. We had to get a Covid test with the cough and tested negative for a cruise. We can all learn from the Japanese who wear a mask historically anytime they a feeling sick. Our flights to Australia, South America and Europe had very few people wearing masks. Best we can do is wear mask and wipe down the seat area. Happy travels!

We just flew to London from Detroit on May 25th and returned on June 11th. A few masks in the outbound flight but none I saw on the return. In our travels around the UK we saw few masks.

Regarding boosters, we got a sixth shot a few weeks before the trip. Husband is 65 but I won't be until fall but Walgreens asked no questions.

Although not to Europe, we recently flew rt to Alaska but did not mask. There were several people on our various flights wearing masks. We had our sixth booster shot a couple of weeks before we traveled and we’re grateful that we did. We were traveling with my sister who contracted covid on the trip and was confined to her cruise ship cabin for 5 of the eight days we were traveling. Her trip was ruined although the cruise line was really kind to her and gave her lots of extra perks to try to make up for it. We were directly exposed but have tested twice and we’re both negative. Covid is still out there but you will have to decide if wearing a mask is worth it to you.

Do US citizens have to pay for Covid boosters?
Is it different in each state?

SJ, I didn’t pay for my booster about two months ago. I’m on Medicare so I don’t know if people with private insurance or no insurance have to pay.

We just came back from Italy. Flew out New York-Venice and returned Milan-New York. Very few people wearing masks both ways. My wife and I wore KN95 masks (when possible; of course you have to take them off when eating and drinking). We did not get sick.

We were both nervous about flying for the first time in the pandemic age. Pre-pandemic, it always seemed like at least one of us got sick with a cold after a flight. No COVID and no colds this time. It could have been the masks, or, more likely, luck.

I was wondering how I would handle wearing a mask on a ten-hour flight, but I got used to it. We also wore our masks in the (very crowded) airports.

San Francisco to Valencia with connections through,Munich, then on to Athens,then to London and then back to SFO,March into April. Very few masks for passengers, a day a few crew.

My wife and I have taken 4 trips since Covid hit,3 Europe,1 New Zealand, all 10-13 hr flights.

We have masked always In airports, planes,crowded public transportation ,gotten all boosters and neither of us have gotten covid to the best of our knowledge. Although, we have ditched masks here locally,we will continue on transportation when on trips. No fun to get sick while traveling and it has worked for us. Only 1 cold since masking... on the last trip,tested, not covid. If it ain't broke,why fix it?

S J, if you're going to get COVID then doing so on the last day of a trip is perfect timing.

Remember those cheap masks don't do much to keep viruses from getting inside of you. I guess you need an N-95, or to be perfectly safe a gas mask. I've sat beside a few people over the years when I wished I had a gas mask.

Flew to Italy last month, through Frankfurt to Venice and then back Frankfurt to Rome, very few passengers or crew wearing masks.

I flew from Seattle to Frankfurt to Munich on 6/18, all full flights. Maybe 5-8 people wearing masks.

I haven’t seen a single person wearing a mask here in the Dolomites.

Almost no one masked on my recent trip to Spain. I flew from Boston to Madrid in May. I masked religiously in the airport and on the plane. I spent some time in Madrid, masking if someone was coughing while in the Prado. Wore my mask on the train to Sarria, but after that I did not mask while walking the Camino, eating, sleeping. I was more relaxed after I finished walking and headed home. On the train from Santiago to Madrid, I barely masked. When I got on the plane to Boston, there was an obviously very ill woman sitting diagonally in front of me, liquid running from eyes, nose, mouth and her husband pushing drugs down her. The sick person never put on a mask. I wore my mask except to eat. Within 6 hours of arriving home, I had covid symptoms and when I tested in the morning, I tested positive. I will not complain about catching it, as I was home when it hit and could curl up in my bed while being waited on by my husband, who did not catch it from me. Could I catch it that fast from the woman on the plane? I don't know. The other women I had been with most on the Camino did not catch covid. I do blame the plane woman, but who knows? I am just still amazed that people who are sick don't wear a mask in public after these last 3 years, in consideration of other people.

What I did do is, when in Madrid each way, I had reservations in a hotel with room service and a restaurant. Something I never did in the past, but I wanted to be prepared incase I got sick on vacation as I was traveling solo. This will be my new modus operandi if/when I head to Europe again.

Wray

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
--https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Seems unlikely the woman on the airplane was the source, if you experienced symptoms so soon after arriving home

Wray, at least you had the saving grace of not getting COVID until you got home. I recently had a similar experience with someone coughing behind me on the plane, and I become pretty sick soon thereafter. Fortunately, like you, I was on my way home. I'm going to carry a mask and use it as necessary, which will mainly be in confined areas especially if someone is coughing or visibly ill.

Why didn't sick person wear a mask? Easy. They don't care.

Why didn't sick person wear a mask? Easy. They don't care

Seems like there’s a lot of that going around, on planes, and in major museums. Wonder how they’re well enough to get out and about, and how long they’ve had that persistent pertussis?

Joe32, LOL, I know Joe, you are right, but the woman was so blatantly inconsiderate to all on the plane, IMO, that she gets my attention. But, as I said, who knows? Beforehand, I had put it out to the Universe that if I got Covid, could it be after I arrived home. So I accept it. I had 3 days of feeling really sick and 7 days of extreme fatigue; so it was quite a light case in the end.

I followed the CDC and my doctor's RX of 5 days isolation and 5 more masked, if not isolated from my family at home. However, Spain just says wear your mask if you have covid. You can go to work, etc. I really think this is the new normal. I think at some point RS tours will need to take this approach, rather than kicking people off the bus when they test positive, but, again, who knows. I digress.

I would say the mask wearers on my plane based only on what I saw was 3%, but I suspect there were all kinds of colds, etc. How do we encourage people to be more considerate of others? I don't know.

Cyn, my guess is people pay thousands of $$ for a vacation so since they're in London, etc., they might as well make the best of it? Ans sometimes when you're "sick" it's not that bad, but I agree masking would be considerate of others.

I know Joe, you are right, but the woman was so blatantly inconsiderate to all on the plane

No disagreement from me about that assessment.

sometimes when you're "sick" it's not that bad, but I agree masking would be considerate of others

BigMike, you’re right about all that. But in otherwise quiet situations: planes (when the pilot’s not making announcements), museums, theaters, even restaurants, coughs nowadays really are noticeable, and a cough or sneeze now seems to be so much more concerning than prior to March 2020. Masks were such critical items for a year or two since then, and would seem to be necessary when one is coughing a lot. But consideration anymore is as scarce as masks.

RE frequent coughing: I had this problem in both Aug and Mar and tested negative for Covid both times. I was also tired. Either the tests were wrong or it was something else. When I tested positive for Covid in May 2022, I was tired but had few respiratory or other symptoms. Some of these people that seem so scary may just have bad allergies. I will absolutely carry N95 masks to use if I think I may threaten others or if others around me sound threatening.

cala, it is true that coughing isn’t necessarily enough to go on in terms of being sick or allergies. My spouse and I have ongoing coughs that date back to getting Covid in December 2019 after returning home from time in London, England and before the world knew what was coming. My spouse ended up with permanent lung damage for which he uses an inhaler but he still has a daily, unpleasant sounding cough. (And my second round of Covid last month exacerbated the cough but it is finally settling). It has become a bit more challenging to stay healthy while travelling. Sigh.

@Cala, I also developed a hacking cough in mid-May, 2 days after returning home from England (part of a larger 5-week trip). I tested negative in the AM before I went to brunch with family. We left the restaurant where I could smell everything and by the time we drove 15 minutes home I had lost my sense of smell (SIL had picked a basil leaf on the way into the house to show me the new variety she planted and I could not smell it). I tested 5 more times over the next week and was negative each time. I never felt ill, just lost sense of smell (still somewhat gone) and had a hacking cough which is still hanging on 4 weeks later. I've concluded I might have had the Upper Respiratory virus called human metapneumovirus or HMPV. No test for it.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/did-you-catch-hmpv-recently-without-knowing-it?utm_source=The%20People%27s%20Pharmacy%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=063e1cc088-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_06_02_03_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7300006d3c-04a18440bf-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

I masked (N95) in the airports and on the flights home although I had not masked in Northern England (except 2 museums that felt crowded). I did mask in Windsor Castle but did not mask for a sung Evening Eucharist at St George's.

I tested negative before my flight (just did it for my own knowledge and because I had some leftover test kits that I did not want to pack back home). One of the flight attendants and I were the only masked individuals in my cabin and as others have indicated I saw very few in Heathrow, SEATAC or Spokane.

Best thing to do is get an N95 or equivalent mask and wear it when indoors with others. Or perhaps just have it handy and put it on if others around are coughing, etc. You've invested a lot of money into your vacation so you might as well add another $10 or $20 for good masks as an insurance policy.

No Europe this year, but did go to remote Polynesia. I wore a mask as much as possible during flight and in USA airport. FA’s wore masks on plane. Not all, but some. I don’t care what others are doing- I wear a mask in places where ventilation is iffy and it’s crowded.

We flew in mid May and home in mid June … I'd say I saw a few people with masks on the planes - more coming back to the US then going. And on the both transatlantic flights at least one flight attendant wore a mask.

I don't recall seeing any masks on my transatlantic flights in mid and late May. Also did some intraEuropean flights and don't remember seeing masks on those planes either.