More than 100 people have been added to Delta’s flight list because they refused to wear a mask on a flight, CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday.
“We have been steadily and quite aggressively intensifying our application of the mask policy. You cannot board a Delta aircraft unless you have a mask. If you board the plane and insist not to wear your mask, we will insist that Delta not fly in the future. We already have over 100 people that we have included in that list, ”Bastian told NBC.
Delta Air Lines has required passengers to wear masks on flights since May 1.
Airlines for America (A4A), which represents major U.S. airlines, including Delta, warned in June that customers could be included in carriers’ flight list if they refuse to wear a face mask on planes. .
Airlines are allowing passengers who eat or drink to remove their masks. Passengers with a medical exception are also not required to wear a mask, but Bastian announced a new policy to deal with those situations.
“We implemented a new procedure this week because some clients indicated that they have underlying conditions that make wearing a mask dangerous for them. So we have told them, you may not want to fly, to reconsider whether air travel is the correct form of transportation, “he said.
For those clients who still want to fly, Delta has an evaluation process with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, he said.
“[T]The client will speak to the doctor before boarding the plane to validate, in fact, that they cannot wear a mask, “he said.
The news comes after American Airlines, which also requires all passengers to wear masks for the duration of their flight, said the company contacted Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after photographs of the senator appeared that did not He was wearing a mask on an airplane.
A Cruz spokesman said Cruz was drinking coffee and took off his mask to do so when he was photographed.
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