The European Commission is expected to announce that airlines will not have to leave the middle seats empty but the wearing of masks onboard and in airports should be required as travel across the bloc restarts gradually.
The guidance for air travel is part of a wider package of recommendations the Commission is issuing today on to gradually lift border restrictions and cautiously restart travel stalled by the coronavirus pandemic in order to revive tourism.
The use of virus contact-tracing apps should be voluntary, the Commission will say, and the apps should also be able to work across EU borders, a Commission document seen by Reuters said.