Turkish Airlines bans wearing masks with vents on planes

Turkish Airlines will no longer allow passengers to wear masks that have ventilation holes on planes, CEO Bilal Ekşi said on Jan. 11. Masks with vents are also not recommended by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as the ventilation holes can allow respiratory droplets to escape and reach others.

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Turkish Airlines will no longer allow passengers to wear face masks with ventilation holes, CEO Bilal Ekşi said in a tweet on Jan. 11. 

"Please don't wear MASKS WITH VENTS on planes," Ekşi said. "Our cabin crew will require you to switch out your ventilated masks in compliance with health guidelines."

The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention also discourages the use of masks with vents, as the ventilation holes can "allow your respiratory droplets to escape and reach others."

Masks with vents may prevent the person wearing it from inhaling germs, but doesn't prevent their breath from getting out and infecting others, Marmara University Textile Engineering's Dr. Erkan İşgören, a participant of the Turkish presidency's report on masks, said.