Traveling to the US with a toddler - are masks really required?

[dkinlondon]

So as the subject says, my husband, son (2.5 years) and I plan on flying to the US this summer for my sisters wedding. I’ve recently learned that all children over 2 years are required to wear a mask and was wondering if anyone has flown to and from the US with a young child recently and whether it was enforced?

We will of course practice as much as we can beforehand, so maybe it won’t be an issue, but it’d be great for my anxiety to know if we risk getting kicked off the flight if he won’t wear it. I couldn’t find any recent posts on the subject, so any stories and experiences you may have would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏻

I'm in the US and I think masks are required on US carriers. However, the rules are changing so quickly that we could all be unmasking by the summer.

I live here and have a 2 year old DS. He's used to wearing a mask, but when we flew with him, we were really strict with making him wear the mask for take off and landing. Obv they're also allowed to eat and drink, so with the constant stream of snacks and drinks of water, it was on and off for most of the flight.

The general sense from my parent friends is that as long as you make a good faith effort with the masking, you're not going to get kicked off the flight.

Thanks for your reply @allfurcoatnoknickers. That seems to be in line with what I’ve heard from my husband’s colleagues and read online. It helps to know that making our best effort will likely do, so we’ve just got to start practicing and hope he’ll accept some mask wearing!

What airline are you flying on? I've heard that the American carriers are much more strict than European ones.

We flew on icelandair last summer and they weren't especially fussed. I'd agree that boarding, take off and landing are the key points and otherwise just a constant stream of food and drinks will get you there.

as long as you make a good faith effort with the masking, you're not going to get kicked off the flight.

We flew with my 2.5yo last year (on United) and would definitely say this was the case. On the flight out, one flight attendant asked how old he was and to get a mask on him as we were boarding, but that was the only time it was actually mentioned. We did the best we could, but really he only wore it for about 30min for take off and then on and off the rest of the time.

He's quite short though - so don't know if it helped he probably looks under 2. And the flights were pretty empty both ways, so no one seemed to care.

We flew to the US with BA last year and they were very strict on masking. I suspect with such a young DC though that the onboard staff will be sympathetic and as long as you're trying to get your DC to wear a mask most of the time they won't make things harder for you. I'd go for the softest fabric mask you can find with a picture on that your DC likes and just do your best. That's all you can do. I really wish that under 6s or something could be exempt. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to get a toddler to wear a mask for multiple hours

BA couldn’t give a monkey’s about masks (have flown to US with DC 5&3 twice this year). American/domestic carriers are more strict but they will have sympathy on the proper littlies. You do need them for US airports though.

My SIL crews for American. She says she's really strict at boarding and unboarding as she has to tick the box and they can be fined if they don't ensure compliance. However she says she turns a bit of a blind eye for children under 7 during the actual flight as long as nearby passengers don't seem bothered.

I just find it absolutely unbelievable that this is mandated anywhere under any circumstances.

The review is next week which usually does it in 3 to 6 month blocks

I have flown BA and Delta and I would say definitely on boarding and unboarding for now. Then it really does depend I think on the crew and passengers.

BA (which was in December so at the height of it) was strict out and far more relaxed on the way back.

Delta (February) had a crew member on the way out who every couple of hours announced that for eating and drinking you remove the mask take a bite and put it back on. No one listened in my area but she did walk up and down asking everyone (children included to put masks on or over the nose

My advice - wait to see what March 18th brings in terms of a date and take it from there

Thanks everyone for your replies, that’s very reassuring. We’ll be flying with BA, so hopefully they won’t be too strict. I imagine in the summer when cases are naturally low (and with a UK airline) we should be ok.

And thanks @Quartz2208 for the information on the review that will happen soon, that’s good to know. We’ll keep an eye open for that, and if it’s still enforced for toddlers, we’ll start practicing wearing a mask at home so that he can hopefully wear one for take off and landing at the very least.