'Extremely inappropriate': Virgin Australia crew member blasted for anti-mask announcement on flight

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'Extremely inappropriate': Virgin Australia crew member blasted for anti-mask announcement on flight

By Katherine Scott
Updated
Virgin Australia staff wearing masks at Sydney Airport in December. Virgin crew are still required to wear masks on board flights.

Virgin Australia staff wearing masks at Sydney Airport in December. Virgin crew are still required to wear masks on board flights.Credit: Kate Geraghty

A Virgin Australia passenger has spoken out after a crew member allegedly urged travellers to complain to the government about mask mandates.

Brisbane-based university lecturer Eddie Synot, 34, tweeted on Friday about an "inappropriate" announcement on flight VA916 from Brisbane to Sydney.

The post begins: "Extremely inappropriate @VirginAustralia that your crew captain on VA916 BNE to SYD is complaining to passengers about Fed Govt mask mandate & encouraging passengers to complain to Fed Govt.

"This is a closed space with limited circulation & COVID remains a serious threat #COVID19," Synot concludes.

The post has garnered almost 5000 likes and 1000 retweets since Friday.

The alleged incident ignited debate online over the responsibility of airlines in enforcing mandatory health requirements, with some dubbing the crew member's behaviour "appalling" and "wrong".

One user wrote: "I was on a flight from Melbourne to Adelaide on Monday. In the row I was sitting 4 people didn't wear mask (sic). Not once. Crew walked past said nothing."

Another added: "That was my experience when I recently travelled with Virgin. They were so cavalier in their attitude. A passenger threatened me when I asked him to put his mask on."

Virgin Australia has responded to the tweet, apologising for the experience and vowing to investigate.

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"The health and safety of everyone onboard is always our number one priority, and for this reason, we strongly encourage all guests to comply with health orders and wear face masks," the response read.

"We also require our cabin crew wear face masks while working on board an aircraft. We have sent you a DM (direct message) to confirm the date of your flight so we can investigate this matter further."

Speaking to Traveller, Synot explained he doesn't want the crew member to lose their job, but believes the airline's actions weren't good enough.

"We've recently recovered from COVID and our toddler also caught it. He's unvaccinated, unable to be vaccinated, and my wife is pregnant," Synot said.

"I think the ongoing impact and threat of COVID is very serious and messaging from airlines in particular in these situations should be consistent with the guidelines."

Major airlines in the United States and United Kingdom have axed onboard mask mandates ahead of the busy summer travel period. Australians no longer have to wear masks on board international flights if their destination doesn't require masks on flights.

Passengers are still required to wear masks on inbound international flights and domestic flights, despite mask mandates lifting at Australian airports from June 17 following advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC).

AHPPC said it will issue further advice on the issue of mask requirements on flights.

Qantas was the first local carrier to lift mask requirements for some international services last month, dubbing it "an important step in our transition to living with COVID" in a leaked internal memo to staff.

The airline's policy now states masks are no longer mandatory for non-stop flights from New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia to the US, UK and Rome, Italy.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has since spoken about the mask policy change with 2GB, saying Australia is "behind the curve" on the issue.

"An aircraft is the safest environment of any transport in the world. You've got these HEPA filters on an aircraft that take out 99 per cent of all particles, including COVID-19," Joyce said.

"We've had a change of government … we're hoping to make progress pretty soon."

Meanwhile, the federal government has scrapped COVID-19 vaccination requirements for people travelling to and from Australia from July 6.

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