Airlines are enforcing their individual mask mandates in the absence of any government mandates and several flights have been turned around in the last couple of weeks because passengers refused to wear them. The latest was a Delta flight that returned to Detroit Metro because two passengers “were non-compliant with crew instructions.” The rest of the passengers eventually got to Atlanta. American and Spirit have also removed passengers at the ramp.
Some passengers are trying to plead that they have medical conditions that make masks unhealthy for them but Delta is calling that bluff. Anyone who makes the claim will have a video chat with a doctor who will evaluate their condition. Meanwhile, after pleas from the airlines, pilots and flight attendants for the FAA, or some other federal agency to make masks mandatory have been ignored, now consumer groups are calling for that leadership. The American Society of Travel Advisors has written FAA Administrator Steve Dickson urging the blanket declaration, saying the rule would help stabilize what little travel industry is left and help it rebuild for the post-pandemic world. “While the airlines have stepped up in the absence of a clear federal mandate, this inconsistency is holding back travel’s recovery,” ASTA CEO Zane Kerby said in news release. To date, Dickson has said he’ll leave that call to the Centers for Disease Control.
There is a very interesting article in Forbes web site on the Covid issue and the airlines written by Dan Reed. One of his points is even if a mask mandate is passed, where is everyone going to fly to? With international borders closed, and states putting out quarantine requirements who wants to fly somewhere and get stuck at destination. Who wants to deal with trying to find food or open hotels when flying for a vacation ( like I had to when I went to recurrent in June). A lot of businesses are now using charter flights to avoid the issues using airlines, or doing the “Zoom” thing. If a mask mandate is issued hopefully it will be just for pt121 scheduled airline ops, otherwise the charter and pt135 businesses will be adversely affected.
Good for the airlines for enforcing their health rules. I can only imagine what will happen to the first carrier to announce they will implement a mask optional flight before we have any vaccine. Proof of vaccination should then be a prerequisite to buying a ticket. We may only fly once a year to Australia, but we insist that the medical side is trying to be as safe as our wonderful Air New Zealand flight crews.
Forcing people for vaccination is a nazi behavior. This is the dream of Bill Gâtes who want to control humanity.
Vaccination should not be mandatory unless a vaccine has 0 side effects. People have been dying after vaccination and even catching the desease they were supposed to protect us from. We are heading towards dictatorships with this king of behavior and talks.
We spent the better part of the last two centuries getting to the point where doctors no longer “bled” people to try and cure them and finally have medicines to cure deadly diseases that have killed untold millions over the coarse of human history, only to have us march backwards now away from science and medicine all because of idiots on the internet 😒
They aren’t forcing you to vaccinate. Airlines are private businesses. They’re just exercising their freedom – to leave internet conspiracy nut-jobs on the ground.
Thank you, E, for your insights.
This kind of superstitious fiddle-faddle is a big reason the USA has the worst record of any rich nation in combating the virus. Notice I did not say, “advanced nation.” Based on our failure to deal sensibly with the pandemic, we don’t deserve to be called that right now.
I’ve solved the airline problem at least for myself. I’ll never fly on an airline again.
Lack of education, fear mongering, politics, bureaucrats, censorship and dishonest statistics all meet at the intersection of our election. Masks are not needed by the population at large. The at-risk need to take care. Healthy people will not die from this. The press/MSM is at the heart of the disinformation. The quicker the population is exposed to this virus the quicker we obtain Herd Immunity. Remember censorship is at the heart of our lack of understanding.
Um, who has been talking about forced vaccinations? That’s quite a leap from mandatory masks on an airplane. The closest we have ever come to that was during the polio outbreaks in the 1950s when we were vaccinated at school. Even then, it was not a government mandate. During the smallpox campaigns we “had” to be vaccinated if we attended public schools, but you were still not forced to do so if you chose to be home schooled. This is as much “fear mongering” as any so-called mainstream media hype.
Oh, and healthy people are dying of this. More “healthy” people are now dying than old and immunocompromised people. Hospital ICU beds in many states are over capacity, many of whom are younger people. Plus, many of those who recover from the virus are suffering from lasting effects like scarred lungs, damaged heart muscles, partial paralysis and other nasty side effects. You can believe what you want, but the virus really doesn’t care. It is an equal opportunity disease that will attack anyone it can.
I am a non-pilot aviation enthusiast that always held pilots in high regard. It seems my regard has been misplaced, as many pilots’ comments lead me to believe they are just as ignorant, and self absorbed as the average know-it-alls that reject the opinions of science in favor of what their favorite celebrity has to say which is what they want to hear. Oh well, let see how many of these doubters I outlive by practicing social distancing and wearing a face mask in public. I’m almost 80.
71.6% of the US population 20 and up are overweight or obese. Over 30% are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Now add hypertension, cardio vascular disease. These four diseases are significant gateways for Covid-19 infections including comorbidity regardless of age. It would be much safer to say, the minority of US citizens are truly healthy. Our healthcare system simply has managed these diseases pre-Covid-19.
We have local, state, and national governments making economic policy decisions based on an ever changing, still mostly unknown Covid-19 pandemic landscape for a largely at high risk national population with little cooperation between themselves. The airlines are trying to make good decisions in the midst of all this chaos and leadership confusion.
Masking, social distancing, and consistent personal hygiene is not restrictions, it is the only proven “medicine” at this point prior to reaching a vaccine. Most medicine/prescriptions do not eliminate the disease. It simply manages the symptoms. The airlines want us to take our “medicine” to allow for some airline travel while offering a better statistical outcome for their employees, passengers, and allow some semblance of domestic travel. Transcontinental routes do not exist and will not exist as long as the US is pandemically out of control. Domestic travel is minuscule at best. Unless the airlines enforce the proven “medicine” it appears there are people who will not do what is minimally necessary. And I am happy that the airlines are enforcing their rules.
Masking, social distancing, hygiene “medicine” is all we have right now to simply add some control ability to Covid-19 infections. Debate, don’t take your Covid-19 “medicine” and the infection rates skyrocket beyond any control ability. For those espousing “herd immunity”, how do you get that when you don’t have Covid-19 antibodies that last but a few weeks? Is there “herd immunity” for the cold, pneumonia, or the wide array of virus’s and bacterial infections? No! How long can any nation stand a never ending infection of Covid-19 because there is no “herd immunity”? Vaccines are the only way out with potential therapeutics to help in the symptom management. Until then, the only way to not spiral out of infection control is taking
our collective medicine even if it tastes bad to some. Airlines seem to be enforcing that which I think is a good idea for them and the public as a whole.
Canada did this right. More than a month ago the Minister of Transport ordered mandatory mask wearing on all commercial flights. The airlines are in Not the hot seat on this they just cite the regulation and the associated penalties.
Bravo to the airlines that are requiring masks. Unfortunately, many of our fellow passengers are determined to act like cranky children and need adults to look out for their safety.