fransknorge

With all due respect and without diminishing what your experience, this is also the fault of BA crews. There are several BA pilots who are telling people mask are not useful, who are diminishing the pandemic (one of them is even denying the existence of the pandemic) and pushing disinformation and conspiracy theories on social media. Those people are publicly identified as BA pilots and have a large audience.
One of your pilot is obsessed with it and tweets all sort of misinformation all day long, this is the only thing his twitter is about now, he even claimed that thanks to their training, pilots can see the truth and they solved the pandemic !

Some of BA pilot tweets, without searching much (there are more from more than those 2 pilots):

81romeo

The unbalanced rapper is a (convicted) idiot (I actually didn't even post the story on here but just replied to somebody mentioning I was onboard and got involved together with other 3 people out of 13 sitting in F).

This trio I have no more words for - if you refuse to wear a mask in public without reason you are an idiot and going against law.

Maybe better if you share your itineraries with me as you seem to have more luck than I

realgaga

OP, I'm interested if you have submitted a complaint and if so, what was the response? (If any)

rossmacd

Knowing that I am putting myself onto public transport with zero influence to control the environment or other travelers, I would personally keep myself to myself complete with my noise-cancelling headphones that effectively create my own 'space' - very much as I do on most flights. I never seem to encounter behaviours often reported on this forum - all of my flights seem rather sedate - maybe I'm just completely oblivious or just ignore others and not allow anyone to interrupt my flight.

If I was to be irritated by the actions of others, I simply would not be putting myself into the situation, and potentially find other means to travel to my destination.

81romeo

Not yet - planning to submit at some point today and will report back.

BOH

...to stop the virus entering via your ears?

rossmacd

If I was worried about catching the virus, I would not be travelling at all

fdem

We had a rather similar experience flying to PMI over the summer. Flight was more than half empty and my husband and I used our normal strategy of booking emergency exit window and aisle seats. Six Israelis( I assume they were Israelis as they were speaking Yiddish and wearing caps but forgive me if I am wrong) Boarded at the last minute wearing masks around their chins. They were in the row in front and behind and were talking over the seats. Cc asked them to put their masks on properly which they did for all of five minutes. After we had taken off this group decided to lower them around their necks, cc again requested them to comply. Request ignored so the captain came out and reminded them that it is compulsory to wear a mask properly on an aircraft, again once the captain returned to the cockpitmasks were removed. By this point I was so incensed by their careless behaviour I asked them to wear them properly. One big fat member of the groups swore at me and told me I was stupid if I thought a mask would save me. At this point my husband told me to leave it alone. Anyway I guess I didn’t catch Covid but it was an upsetting experience. Upon disembarkation I mentioned their behaviour to the captain and thanked him for trying to intervene. The captain told me their behaviour was noted and it was likely they would not be using their return tickets. Hopefully this was the case as even if you don’t see the benefit of wearing a mask, rules in the air have to be obeyed.

KULKyle

I hope you are aware that in the UK somebody who is exempt does not have to wear a face mask, nor do they have to disclose the reason why or show proof of their condition. Think twice before criticizing and name and shaming people not wearing them, you do not know their reasons as to why.

Silver Fox

HMG says:

Exemption cards

If you have an age, health or disability reason for not wearing a face covering:

• you do not routinely need to show any written evidence of this
• you do not need show an exemption card

This means that you do not need to seek advice or request a letter from a medical professional about your reason for not wearing a face covering.

However, some people may feel more comfortable showing something that says they do not have to wear a face covering. This could be in the form of an exemption card, badge or even a home-made sign.

So, the bottom line is that if you are going to travel ex-UK then you need to be prepared for this situation. Not sure what BA could have enforced here under the law but happy to have it pointed out for clarity.

mrow

Why think twice? My experience is that those who are genuinely exempt are happy to explain in generic detail why they are exempt and those taking the p*ss are far more likely to respond aggressively. When I get an aggressive response I keep pushing knowing full well that CC will more likely intervene in an aggressive confrontation than they will to a calm conversation.

KULKyle

As someone with a condition that allows for an exemption, I would promptly inform you my health conditions are none of your concern and if it upsets you sit somewhere else. Unless of course you are a doctor in the field of expertise as my condition who can offer some helpful medical advice, in which case I would ask to see your credentials before discussing my personal health needs with a stranger.

Silver Fox

Why would they have to explain anything to you?

TheMan123

I personally think that if someone is exempt from wearing a mask, they should carry proof of this so that they can show it to anyone who challenges them about it.

so many people are getting away with saying they’re exempt and the staff can’t do anything about it. If someone says they’re exempt, there’s nothing else they can do really and it needs to change.

Masks are horrible to wear, but quite essential at these times.. especially when you’re in such close quarters like on an aircraft.

ScienceTeacher

I'll save you the time....

Dear 81romeo,

We're sorry to hear you felt unsafe during your recent flight with is. We understand how frustrating this was, especially as you couldn't relax before your flight. This isn’t what you should expect of us, and we understand why you needed to complain.

Unfortunately, as a result of Covid-19, masks are compulsory onboard all our flights unless a passenger has a hidden disability. I'm sorry you weren't aware of this before you travelled.

I note you spoke with the Captain who reemphasised the point of our inflight lead. I know this wasn't the answer you were hoping for.

Once again, please accept our apologies for your experience on this trip. We hope to welcome you back on board soon. If I can help with anything else, please contact me directly using the blue link below.

Best regards

Person XYZ