Every few days we read another story about someone who refuses to wear a mask on a plane. Recently it was some guy on an American flight who wore his mask onto the plane but then took it off and refused to put it back on. So he was kicked off his plane. Good. Once back in the airport, he said he would comply, so he was admitted onto the next plane to his destination where…you guessed it, he again refused to wear a mask. He’s since been banned from American Airlines.
Behavior like this causes planes to be delayed, and potentially puts airline staff and passengers in danger. Maskless passengers, and passengers wearing facial coverings improperly are part of the reason why I refuse to fly right now and I know that, by far, I’m not the only one.
Unless something more is done, this is going to be, at best, a daily event, if not an occurrence per plane. I mean, I give kudos to American to sticking to their guns but really, banning that guy is like killing one cockroach when there’s still a nest of them behind the wall.
I really wish airlines would adopt policies like these to help actually decrease the problem:
- This guy, as well as others, have said they can’t wear a mask because of mysterious and undisclosed “medical reasons.” With rare exception (and yes, I know there are exceptions), they’re just trying to use the Americans With Disabilities act as a “loophole” when they don’t actually have any sort of documented disability or medical condition that would prevent them from wearing a facial covering. Universal Orlando has solved that problem in almost every instance by offering its guests a clear plastic face shield for use in lieu of a mask. Perhaps airlines can have some of these face shields ready for those who refuse to wear masks. They’re not as effective as masks, but they’re still better than not wearing anything at all.
- As I said, American has banned him. Delta and United have said they too have banned passengers who refuse to wear masks on their planes. That’s all well and good. But for most people, if they can’t use one airline to get somewhere, they can use another. Perhaps airlines could work together to maintain a database of people who are on their respective “banned for refusing to wear a mask” lists. This way if Mr. “I won’t wear a mask, yes I will, no I won’t” is banned from American, he also won’t be able to fly on Delta, Spirit, Alaska, Southwest, etc. Airlines would need to spell this out on their respective websites, but if they can make passengers know that if they refuse to wear a mask on their upcoming flight, it will be their last flight on any airline, it might make people think twice before refusing to wear a facial covering.
I had originally written this post before Delta announced that those claiming a medical reason for not wearing masks would now have to get pre-clearance from one of the airline’s health care professionals before flying with them. I think that’s a good thing and I hope the other airlines follow their lead.
Unfortunately, jerks will be jerks and I have no doubt someone will still go on a plane and when they’re at 35,000 feet, will decide to not wear their mask anymore. So I still think having a shred list between all the airlines might be a good idea.
Short of federal intervention (yeahright…as if that’s gonna happen), what else do you think could potentially be done so people would be compelled to wear masks on planes?
Feature Photo: Designed by Freepick
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands #wearamask
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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