The major US carriers have agreed to take a harder line on
enforcing passenger facial covering requirements aboard their aircraft,
according to industry trade organisation Airlines for America.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian
Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all have
agreed to a set of policies around facial coverings that include
"consequences for noncompliance." Those consequences are up to each
individual carrier, according to A4A. United, for example, on Monday said that
as of 18 June, it would place passengers who do not comply on an "internal
travel restriction list" and that they would not be allowed to fly on
United "for a duration of time to be determined pending a comprehensive
incident review". That step would come after flight attendants notify the
passengers of the requirement and offer to provide them with a mask, if needed,
according to United.
The policies agreed upon by the airlines also include
communicating with passengers before the flight of mask requirements as well as
onboard announcements of the requirements and potential consequences, according
to A4A.
"US airlines are very serious about requiring face
coverings on their flights," A4A president and CEO Nicholas Calio said in
a statement. "Face coverings are one of several public health measures
recommended by the [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] as an
important layer of protection for passengers and customer-facing
employees."