Senator Bernie Sanders criticized American Airlines on Tuesday for selling intermediate seats on flights, effectively abandoning the premise of social distancing on planes during the pandemic.
During a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, Sanders criticized the airline and asked the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, and the Director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, if the planes or Full buses were an inherent security risk.
“You are going to have people going from New York to California, five or six hours, sitting inches away,” Sanders said. “Why hasn’t the government, be it the CDC or the Department of Transportation, issued guidelines prohibiting such violations of what we all know makes common sense?”
Dr. Fauci and Dr. Redfield agreed that complete aircraft were not ideal.
“Obviously, that’s something to be concerned about,” said Dr. Fauci. “Avoid crowds, stay aloof, and in a situation like that, wear a mask. I think in the confines of an airplane, that becomes even more troublesome.”
“I can tell you that when they announced that the other day, there was obviously a big disappointment with American Airlines,” said Dr. Redfield.
“I just hope that the CDC or the appropriate agency basically tells these companies that this is unacceptable behavior,” added Sanders. “They are putting the lives of Americans at risk.”
In a statement, American Airlines said it was “unwavering in our commitment to the safety and well-being of our customers and team members.”
“We have multiple layers of protection for those flying with us, including required face covers, improved cleaning procedures, and a pre-flight COVID-19 symptom checklist, and we are providing additional flexibility for customers to change their plans for Travel too, “a company spokesperson told Business Insider.
American Airlines announced last week that it would stop limiting capacity on its flights and block intermediate seats, which it had been doing since April.
American is not the only airline that fills its flights. United will sell all seats on board and has argued that social distancing is not possible on planes. Spirit, Frontier, and other low-cost carriers have also continued to fill their planes.
However, Delta has said it will limit flights to at least September 30, blocking the economy economy middle seats and all other first-class seats. The airline has said it will add additional flights to routes where demand exceeds limited capacity.
According to American, the airline is taking other security measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission on board. Those measures include mandatory masks, recently implemented cleaning and disinfection procedures, and require passengers to complete a health self-assessment before flights.
Airlines and industry representatives, including the International Air Transport Association, have argued that social distancing on flights is not necessary due to airflow patterns in aircraft, high-efficiency particulate air filters. that prevent the recirculation of microbes in the air, other cleaning measures and the use of masks
