Ministry of Health confirms masks to be compulsory on trans-Tasman flights

The vexed question of whether to wear a mask or not wear a mask may now come to a close - at least for those on trans-Tasman flights.

Today, the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed it was likely to require masks to be worn on all flights from Australia.

In a statement, the MOH said "medical grade masks should be offered to passengers on international flights and they should be strongly encouraged to use these masks as a precautionary measure while on board".

And Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said masks will be compulsory for every passenger on board flights from Australia, for the duration of the flight.

"People are coming from a whole lot of international flights and transitting through [Australia] then coming on and just as an additional precaution the advice from our infection prevention control team was to make masks available, I thought it was important to require masks for the duration of the flight so we're putting that in place as well," he said.

At the moment it is not compulsory to wear masks on incoming flights.

Air New Zealand has told RNZ it was not treating the masks as compulsory but that they would be offered to passengers on trans-tasman flights.

It comes after three new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this week, all from travellers transitting through Australia.

Most passengers returning to New Zealand fly through Australia, including those travelling from the UK and Europe.

'It's all too little, too late'

An Air New Zealand flight attendant RNZ spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous, felt more at risk when passengers on the long haul flights they worked on did not wear masks.

The crew member chose to isolate from their family during the lockdown and alert level 3 to keep them safe, and only reunited after a voluntary test for Covid-19 returned a negative result.

"It makes me feel uncomfortable returning home to New Zealand, not for myself, but it puts everybody at risk," the crew member said.

"It's all too little, too late on Air New Zealand's part."

Air New Zealand international crew returning home are allowed to fly domestically to their homes to self isolate for 48 hours before having a Covid-19 test.

They are not required to quarantine or self isolate for 14 days like other international arrivals, but must stay in their rooms while overseas and wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) through airports.

Air New Zealand said it continued to follow the advice of the MOH and Ministry of Transport, including compulsory Covid-19 tests for crew on US routes.

In late April Air New Zealand requested the MOH consider a testing regime for asymptomatic international air crew and airport workers, following the ministry's move to test asymptomatic people at supermarkets.

The Auckland District Health Board carried out this voluntary testing at Auckland Airport in April, and it was available again at the end of May.

It included pilots and cabin crew returning from international flights, as well as other customer facing airport workers.

The testing was not Air New Zealand-specific and other companies with employees in the airport environment were also offered testing.

*See all RNZ coverage of Covid-19

Union, MOH to check airline staff following rules

E Tū union head of aviation Savage said the union would support all passengers wearing masks on board flights.

"Best practice needs to be followed and internationally it is being recommended that air travellers should be required to wear masks but it is not a requirement," he said.

The MOH and E Tū have launched a survey to find out if airline staff are following self-isolation rules while overseas.

Savage said the aim was to find out how strictly the self-isolation rules were being followed.

"We don't want to turn cabin crew into pariahs because they are actually doing a really difficult job. What we want to do is fix the problem. If there's a problem there, let's fix the problem and plug the gaps in the system."

The MOH has reiterated that it expects to see more cases of Covid-19 entering our shores, as Kiwis return from overseas.

Dr Bloomfield said the borders needed to be watertight.

"We're not out of the woods yet on this, there is a large global pandemic underway. We will see further cases and we are absolutely commited to ensuring the border is watertight so we keep New Zealand safe."

In a statement, the MOH said "medical grade masks should be offered to passengers on international flights and they should be strongly encouraged to use these masks as a precautionary measure while on board".