United Airlines Threatens to Ban Passengers Who Do Not Wear Masks

United Airlines, together with other Airlines for America (A4A) members, has said it will strengthen its mandatory mask policies to further mitigate against the spread of COVID19.

Starting from 18 June, any passenger who does not wear a mask when onboard an United flight will be placed on an internal travel restriction list.

Customers on the list will lose their travel privileges on United for a duration of time to be determined pending a comprehensive incident review.

United currently requires all passengers to wear a face covering onboard its flights and expects that policy to remain in place for at least the next 60 days.

The only exceptions to this policy are individuals who have a medical condition or a disability that prevents them from wearing a face covering, those who cannot put on or remove a face covering themselves and small children.

Customers are expected to wear a mask for the duration of the flight, except when eating or drinking.

"Every reputable heath institution says wearing a mask is one of the most effective things people can do to protect others from contracting COVID19, especially in places like an aircraft where social distancing is a challenge," said United's Chief Customer Officer, Toby Enqvist. "We have been requiring our customers to wear masks onboard United aircraft since May 4 and we have been pleased that the overwhelming majority of passengers readily comply with our policy. Today's announcement is an unmistakable signal that we're prepared to take serious steps, if necessary, to protect our customers and crew."

Under this new policy, if a flight attendant notices or is informed of a customer onboard who is not wearing a face covering and that passenger does not fall within an exception, the flight attendant will proactively inform the customer that for the health and safety of everyone, face coverings are mandatory for all customers and crew on board. They will also offer to provide the customer with a mask if needed. If the customer continues to be non-compliant, flight attendants will do their best to de-escalate the situation, again inform the customer of United's policy, and provide the passenger with an In-Flight Mask policy reminder card. If a customer continues to not comply, the flight attendant will file a report of the incident, which will initiate a formal review process. Any final decision or actions regarding a customer's future flight benefits will not occur onboard but instead take place after the flight has reached its destination and the security team has investigated the incident.

Dr Mike Ryan of @WHO has stressed importance of being able to track & trace passengers after they get off the plane so authorities can easily break any chain of transmission. WHO will issue detailed new considerations/advice for int. #airtravel in couple of days. #travel #aviation

— Travel News Asia (@TravelNewsAsia) June 16, 2020

"U.S. airlines are very serious about requiring face coverings on their flights. Carriers are stepping up enforcement of face coverings and implementing substantial consequences for those who do not comply with the rules," said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. "Face coverings are one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC as an important layer of protection for passengers and customer-facing employees."

In April, United became the first major U.S.-based airline to require flight attendants to wear a face mask while on duty, and beginning in May, expanded that mandate to include all employees and customers on board. This includes front-line workers like pilots, customer service agents and ramp workers when on board an aircraft, along with any other United employees traveling using their flight benefits.

"Wearing a mask is a critical part of helping make air travel safer," said Dr. James Merlino, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Cleveland Clinic. "The more people in a given space wearing masks, the fewer viral particles are making it into the space around them, decreasing exposure and risk."

Other airlines taking similar action include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue and Southwest.

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