Originally Posted by
the_stranger
That is going to be an interesting courtcase, if the passenger decide to sue.
In my country, the experts publicly doubt the use and of masks and there are lots of studies which are conflicted.
I wouldn't be surprised if the passenger succesfully defends the removing of his mask, depending on the country.
Of course you can always try the "passengers are supposed to follow instructions of the crew", but that line has decreases in usefulness too.
The Commander has the authority to give all commands and take any appropriate actions for the purpose of securing the safety of the aircraft and of persons and/or property carried therein.He/she has also the authority to disembark any person (or cargo) that may represent a potential hazard to the safety of the aircraft or its occupants. You remove your mask = you are smoking onboard basically.
The airline should write down in the conditions of air travel (and make sure it is also written all over the place on the website / e-ticket receipt) that it is compulsory to wear a company provided mask anytime onboard the aircraft. Now that brings a couple of problems : 1) what about young children and/or adults with respiratory diseases (such as asthma) whom most likely won't be able to wear a mask for the whole duration of the flight ? 2) It is going to work for short-medium range flights (up to 3 hours I would guess) but what about longer flights ? You can't wear a mask for 15 hours on a long haul flight.