Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant…

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the United States may have just stopped enforcing the federal face mask mandate but masking very much remains a requirement on some airlines including Qatar Airways whose national health regulator hasn’t eased face mask rules… Unless, of course, you are flying the airline’s much-lauded QSuite’s Business Class.

Qatar Airways no longer requires passengers flying in QSuite’s to wear a face mask when they are actually sitting in the suite but face masks must be worn at all other times such as walking the aisle to use the lavatory and during boarding and disembarkation.

The rule change hasn’t actually been publicly advertised and Qatar Airways hasn’t responded to calls for comment. In fact, the airline’s website still advises passengers that everyone must wear a face mask but flight attendants proactively inform passengers sat in Qsuite’s that they are not obliged to wear a mask when in their suite.

The looser restrictions apply only to passengers in QSuite’s and passengers travelling in Business Class on the Doha-based airline’s non-QSuite enabled aircraft must still wear a face mask.  Exemptions continue to apply to travellers who are medically exempt.

This isn’t the first time that Qatar Airways has exempted QSuite passengers from wearing a face mask and it appears that the looser policy may have been in place since late December.  The thinking is that the greater privacy that the QSuite affords makes it safe enough for passengers to go mask free if they wish.

A similar policy at Cathay Pacific came to light in early 2021 which allowed Business Class passengers to remove their face masks when laying in a fully flat position.  At the time, a spokesperson for Cathay Pacific said the spaciousness of Business Class seats, along with partitions made it possible for looser rules to be applied to Business Class passengers.

At the height of the pandemic, Qatar Airways required all passengers to wear both a face mask and a face shield.  Business Class passengers, however, only had to wear the face shield for boarding and disembarkation, whereas all other passengers had to wear a face shield for the duration of the flight.

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Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for a well-known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.

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Its all admit money at the end of the day. Qatar Airways has turned the mask mandate into a sleezy sales grab. If you have money you can get out of the mask mandate. Disgusting.

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