American, Delta and United airlines all announced they will now require passengers to wear face masks on all flights, joining fellow carriers JetBlue and Frontier in combating the spread of the coronavirus.
The new normal goes into effect on Monday, May 4, for Delta, United and JetBlue. American rolls out the edict starting Monday, May 11.
Delta and JetBlue will both require passengers to wear face coverings from check-in through deplaning, with the only exception being for meals according to USA Today.
"While we remain committed to our new standard of clean and to providing more space for our customers when they travel, we take seriously the CDC guidelines for adding this extra layer of protection," said Bill Lentsch, Delta's chief customer experience officer. "We believe this change will give customers and employees some additional comfort when traveling with us.''
"We will roll this out as quickly as possible and these kits will be widely available across our network in the coming weeks," said Kurt Stache, American's senior vice president of customer experience. "In the meantime, customers should bring their own masks or face coverings."
JetBlue was the first airline to require passengers to wear face masks, and it was expected to spread among fellow carriers quickly. In fact, Airlines for America, the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, announced Thursday that its member passenger carriers will be voluntarily requiring that customer-facing employees and passengers wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth throughout the journey - during check-in, boarding, in-flight and deplaning. Carriers are working to implement this policy.
"The safety and wellbeing of all passengers is the top priority of U.S. airlines. The requirement to wear a cloth face covering during air travel is just one of the ways carriers are working to protect passengers and employees throughout this crisis," the group said in a statement. "A4A's member airlines all meet or exceed CDC guidance and have implemented intensive cleaning protocols, in some cases to include electrostatic cleaning and fogging procedures. Carriers are working around the clock to sanitize cockpits, cabins and key touchpoints - like tray tables, arm rests, seatbelts, buttons, vents, handles and lavatories - with CDC-approved disinfectants."
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