Originally Posted by
beachmouse
And part of that risk assessment is that the airline will actually follow the laws and directives they agreed to when they decided to operate service to a foreign country that has different laws than its own, If BA is not willing to follow those laws and rules in practice, they should not be flying to the USA right now.
And despite what y'all read in the Daily Mail, the mask rules are generally well regarded here and give confidence to people wishing to travel. So much so the airlines had them in place without federal mandate in 2020 because it helps tip the mental scale in terms of 'is it worth it to fly somewhere now?'. Without mask rules, I wouldn't have set foot on a plane in 2021. With them, I'm up to 22 flight segments this year and a few more to come over the festive season.
Putting aside your impression that mask wearing on an airplane in flight, carrying mostly vaccinated passengers and crew, has any effect whatsoever on measurable covid infection rates (I would say, NO, it does not, and there is no science out there proving that it does), I sincerely doubt that a government, any government, can mandate what an airplane licensed and operated from another country and in international airspace, does. While in US Airspace I'm sure that the US Gov't CAN do this, but when out of US Airspace, international agreements and the rules of the flag country will dictate what is required.