Eating and drinking on public transit will be allowed from February 16, 2022, again. This is what Jean Castex announced this Thursday January 20 in the evening, during a press conference that aimed at specifying the calendar lifting Covid-related health restrictions, and especially the Omicron-related ones. The measure has been made this past December 27 to curb the increase in contaminations, and came into effect on January 3.
The measure applies to hauls by train, plane (domestic flights), metros, and buses, as well as carpooling, forcing users and companies involved to adapt, but they yet enjoyed a few exemptions: “there might be a certain number of easing here and there for children or to drink water”, Tourism minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne told our France Inter peers this past December 29.
Easing also alluded to the day before, on December 28th, by Jean-Baptiste Djebbari: “We’ll obviously be very pragmatic and show discernment on the matter. It wouldn’t be normal for instance to prevent people from drinking or a mother to feed her child”, the Transport minister told Europe 1.
According to the calendar shared by the French PM, you will have to wait until February 16, 2022, to be allowed to drink and eat “normally” again on public transit. You will have to be patient before enjoying dining cars and meal trays again.