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Transport Canada updates airport mask requirements; bandanas, shields no longer OK

Transport Canada has updated requirements for face coverings at all Canadian airports. The changes mean no more bandanas, masks with valves or vents, neck gaiters or face shields.
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Passengers arrive at Victoria International Airport in July. Under new Transport Canada rules, bandanas, neck gaiters, and masks with valves will no longer be allowed in airports or on flights. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

Transport Canada has updated requirements for face coverings at all Canadian airports.

The changes mean no more bandanas, masks with valves or vents, neck gaiters or face shields. Travellers wearing these types of masks will not be permitted into airports or on their flight.

Acceptable masks must cover the nose and mouth, the federal agency said. They can be disposable or cloth and should be fitted with ear loops and secured around the head.

The new measures were in effect Thursday.

In September, Transport Canada announced it had levied its first fines to passengers refusing to wear a mask on board a flight.

One passenger travelling from Calgary to Waterloo, Ont., was fined $1,000 in June and a second passenger was fined the same amount for refusing to wear a mask on a WestJet flight from Vancouver to Calgary in July.

Wearing a mask in airports and on board flights has been a federal requirement since April 20.

— Times Colonist with a file from the Vancouver Sun