Airlines lift mask rules — but what about the bans on people who refused to wear them?
After the Transportation Security Administration announced on April 18 that it would no longer enforce the federal mask mandate, following a federal judge’s ruling, many airlines dropped their mask requirements onboard and in airports.
Now, airlines are deciding whether to allow passengers banned for not wearing masks back on flights.
Here’s what they say.
‘A case-by-case basis’
Alaska Airlines said that as more COVID-19 policies ease, its staff will “remain vigilant and prepared for whatever may come next,” according to an April 18 news release.
The airline said it will decide which passengers previously banned will be authorized to come onboard.
“We will have some guests whose behavior was particularly egregious who will remain banned, even after the mask policy is rescinded,” the airline said in the release.
Similarly, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said they will welcome back passengers who didn’t comply with mask-related rules on a case-by-case basis.
United said passengers will have to commit “to follow all crew member instructions onboard,” a spokesperson told McClatchy News on April 21.
United said it banned about 1,000 passengers while mask mandates were being enforced.
Delta, too, “will restore flight privileges for customers on the mask non-compliance no-fly list only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us,” airline spokesperson Morgan Durrant told USA Today.
“Any further disregard for the policies that keep us all safe will result in placement on Delta’s permanent no-fly list. Customers who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list remain barred from flying with Delta,” the airline said, adding that about 2,000 passengers are on its “mask no-fly list.”
Southwest Airlines, however, said the people no longer welcome to fly with the company are on a list based on “unruly and disruptive behavior, and that’s unaffected by the recent court decision,” a spokesperson told McClatchy News on April 21.
American Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on April 21.
‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against unruly passengers now permanent
On April 20, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration announced that its “Zero Tolerance” policy against unruly passengers was now permanent.
“Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that’s a promise,” Billy Nolen, acting FAA administrator, said in a news release. “Unsafe behavior simply does not fly and keeping our Zero Tolerance policy will help us continue making progress to prevent and punish this behavior.”
The policy — which fines passengers instead of warning them — was implemented on Jan. 13 after officials noticed a surge in unruly passenger incidents. As of Feb. 16, the agency said 80 “unruly passenger cases” have been referred to the FBI for criminal review.
In the past year, the agency received 1,233 reports of unruly passengers, of which 797 — more than half — were related to masks, according to data from the FAA.
After the TSA announced it will no longer enforce mask mandates, health experts expressed worries, according to reporting by McClatchy News.
Many recommended passengers continue to wear masks as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in some areas of the U.S.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Airlines lift mask rules — but what about the bans on people who refused to wear them?."
