Airlines are taking their mask requirements seriously, even if some passengers don’t get it.
Delta Air Lines has added nearly 700 passengers to its no-fly list for refusing to comply with its mandatory mask policy, CEO Ed Bastian wrote in an internal company memo Wednesday.
That number was up significantly from just 460 banned passengers in late October, according to a previous report. The airline has been adding rule-breaking passengers to the no-fly list since it added mask requirements in April.
Delta Air Lines has added nearly 700 passengers to its no-fly list for refusing to comply with its mandatory mask policy. (iStock)
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While it sounds like a lot of passengers added to the no-fly list, most people traveling with the airline have followed the health safety requirements. A Delta spokesperson said the airline has flown about 1 million customers per week, even with reduced schedules amid the pandemic.
Bastian also wrote that it’s “vitally important” for Delta employees to conduct daily COVID-19 symptom self-assessments and to follow health safety guidelines like social distancing.
“Together, these layers of protection will keep you, our customers and our communities safer and healthier as we move into 2021,” he wrote.
A Delta spokesperson said the airline has flown about 1 million customers per week, even with reduced schedules amid the pandemic. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
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Delta and other major airlines are requiring passengers to wear face masks on flights in an effort to stop the coronavirus from spreading between passengers and crew. Delta is also blocking middle seats through March 30, 2021, and is allowing passengers to change or cancel their travel plans without a fee.
A Department of Defense study found that masks, combined with airplanes’ air filtration systems, can greatly reduce the risk of transmitting the coronavirus during a flight.
Delta has partnered with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on a new program that will allow passengers to fly to Amsterdam without needing to quarantine, providing they test negative for COVID-19. The airline’s special COVID-free flights between Atlanta and Amsterdam are scheduled to start next week.
Delta is also blocking middle seats through March 30, 2021 and is allowing passengers to change or cancel their travel plans without a fee. (iStock)
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Several incidents of passengers refusing to wear masks have made headlines, including a case of a man reportedly threatening a Delta employee over a mask dispute and a flight being forced back to the gate after a woman on board refused to put on a mask.
Other airlines have also had their share of troublesome passengers. A couple flying to Hawaii with United Airlines was reportedly arrested after boarding a plane after testing positive for the coronavirus.
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