An airline has launched a “full investigation” into claims that masks were not enforced on a flight between Greece and Wales which has been linked to 16 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Almost 200 passengers on a flight from the Greek island of Zante to Cardiff on August 25 have been told to self-isolate and officials have said seven of the Covid-19 cases were infectious or potentially infectious whilst on the flight.
One passenger on the Tui flight 6215 described seeing people “disregard the rules” and not wear face masks.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, Stephanie Whitfield said: “Many passengers didn’t seem to know how to wear the masks correctly or they seemed to just disregard the rules really.
“Lots of the people were wearing the masks underneath their noses or even underneath their chins. They were taking the masks off to talk to friends and they were going up and down the aisles to talk to their friends without their masks on.”
When asked how the flight crew responded, she said she saw one crew member ask a passenger to put their mask on.
She continued: “But the vast majority of people weren’t being spoken to, and there was a chap sat next to me who had his mask around his chin for the full flight, and the stewardess was talking to him and she didn’t say anything to him.
“The flight was full of selfish ‘covidiots’ and an inept crew who couldn’t care less.”
Whitfield added that she and her husband have both experienced mild symptoms of the virus since returning to Wales and are due to take a test on Tuesday.
Dr Gwen Lowe, a consultant in communicable disease control for Public Health Wales, told the programme 30 cases in Wales in the past week had been linked to the Greek island.
She added officials are still in the process of reaching all 193 people on the flight and said the number of infections is expected to rise.
A spokesperson for Tui said: “The health and safety of passengers is always our priority and we are concerned to hear of Mrs Whitfield’s claims. Our crew are trained to the highest standards and in line with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) guidelines.
“Passengers are informed prior to travel and via PA announcements on the flight that they have to wear masks throughout and are not allowed to move around the cabin.
“Masks can only be removed when consuming food and drink. A full investigation is now under way as these concerns weren’t reported during the flight or before today.”