About a week ago, Chancellor Scholz and Economics Minister Habeck traveled to Canada. The fact that she and others do not wear a mask on the flight sparks a debate about equal and special treatment. The Chancellery is now tightening the rules on Chancellor flights.
On the flights of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, masks are again compulsory in government aircraft. After criticism because wearing masks was only recommended on a trip to Canada, the Chancellery tightened the corona rules again for today’s day trip by the head of government to Prague. “In view of the public debate of the past few days, the Federal Chancellery has decided, in addition to a current PCR test, to again require the wearing of masks during the entire flight,” said a government spokesman on request.
The test regulations have also been tightened. In addition to a PCR test no more than 24 hours before departure, all passengers also had to take a rapid test prior to check-in. The Air Force relaxed the corona rules for government machines in July. Since then, there has no longer been a general obligation to wear masks, only a recommendation. However, the Federal President, Chancellor or Minister have the option of ordering additional protective measures.
On the trip to Canada with Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck last week, Scholz had refrained from doing so. A video and photos from the outbound flight then caused criticism. It showed Habeck and journalists sitting close together without masks. Now all passengers have to wear FFP2 masks again. Masks are also compulsory on all scheduled flights to and from Germany.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert showed understanding for the criticism of the Chancellor and the Economics Minister during the course of the debate. “These weren’t pretty pictures,” said Kühnert on ntv. “Of course we all see that there is simply a dissonance here. If everyone on the holiday plane has to wear it and not in government, then that creates a form of resentment.” Kühnert also said: “I think there will have to be improvements.”
The FDP, on the other hand, had made calls to completely abolish the obligation to wear masks on airplanes, for example by FDP parliamentary group leader Alexander Graf Lambsdorff. He wrote on Twitter that after these pictures, the mask requirement in “normal” airplanes could not remain.