If he refuses to wear a mask on a Delta flight, the CEO tells him to find another airline.
Ed Bastian spoke with Willie Geist TODAY about how the airline has been “stable and quite aggressively” stepping up its mask policy to keep crew and passengers safe during the pandemic.
“You can’t board a Delta plane unless you have a mask,” he said. “If you board the plane and insist not to wear your mask, we will insist that you do not fly with Delta in the future.” We already have more than 100 people that we have included in that list. “
While all major airlines have instituted a policy requiring customers to wear masks, Delta announced Monday that passengers who claim they are unable to wear masks due to a health condition must be medically cleared at the airport or consider another mode of transit.
“We implemented a new procedure this week because some clients indicated that they have an underlying condition that makes wearing a mask dangerous for them,” Bastian said. “We have told them that you may not want to fly, to reconsider whether air travel is the correct form of transportation.”
The airline’s “authorization to fly” procedure involves an evaluation conducted in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and STAT-MD, a medical service that provides advice to airlines.
The process can take over an hour, and anyone who finds falsification of disability claims or a health condition to obtain a mask exemption could be suspended from flying Delta as long as the mask requirement is in effect, the company said in its statement. of press.
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Bastian also highlighted other safety precautions, such as Delta planes that are regularly disinfected and electrostatically fogged. The flights are reserved at 60% of their capacity and the intermediate seats are blocked.
“Today’s flight experience is really positive,” he said. “I know there is a lot of anxiety in the general public and even about the road warriors who have been flying for years.” The first time they return, there is a level of distress that needs to be traveled through the process. “
Like all major airlines, Delta has been bleeding into money during the pandemic. The company was losing $ 100 million a day in March, which dropped to $ 27 million a day in June.
Bastian called the money earmarked for the airline sector by Congress in the CARES Act as “immeasurable” to be able to pay employees during the pandemic. The provision of the CARES Act, which was signed in March, will expire at the end of September, when several airlines said that mass layoffs could occur.
Nearly 20% of Delta employees will retire on August 1, which will reduce some costs for the company. Bastian was asked if the airline will need another round of money from the federal government when the CARES Act expires.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We are trying not to.”
“We need demand to return,” he continued. “I don’t know if government help is the answer. What we really need is a vaccine, we need some medical confidence in consumers and continue to restore confidence in air travel.”
