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At least three major US airlines are preparing to welcome back recalcitrant customers who have been placed on no-fly lists for refusing to wear masks. The swift reversal comes just days after a district judge overturned a federal mask mandate.
In a statement sent to Gizmodo, a United Airlines spokesman confirmed the reversal.
“On a case-by-case basis, we will allow some customers who were previously suspended for failing to comply with mask rules to fly United again – after pledging to follow all instructions from crew members on board,” the spokesman said. United had previously suspended around 1,000 customers for violating the mask requirement during the pandemic.
Delta will similarly welcome back some of its 2,000 suspended customers, with a spokesman for The New York Times telling on Thursday that on a case-by-case basis it would “restore flight privileges to customers who are on the no-fly list for mask non-compliance.” . Passengers who are banned for behavior more serious than refusing to wear a mask will remain banned. American Airlines chief government affairs officer Nate Gatten told the Associated Press that banned passengers would be allowed to re-board planes “in most cases.”
2021: A year of high-flying brawls
The rapid reversal follows a year of record unrest among airline passengers. Over the past year, videos on social media have shown angry mask detractors engaging in fist fights, spitting on other passengers and being forced off planes. The Federal Aviation Administration launched more than 1,000 investigations into unruly passengers and proposed $5 million in fines. In terms of numbers, the past year has set a record for unruly passenger behavior. According to the agency, 4,290 mask-related incidents were reported to the agency last year. That accounts for 72% of all incidents reported to the FAA in 2021.
All of these airline reversals are made possible in part by a federal judge’s recent decision in Florida to overturn the CDC’s public transit masking order. Most major US airlines dropped their mask requirements immediately, some flight captains to announce the decision mid-flight.
It is quickly becoming easier to point out which companies and institutions actually still need masks and which do not. This ever-shortening list includes New York City subways and buses, Los Angeles transit systems, and most hospitals.