by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:20 AM ET, Fri May 29, 2020
United Airlines announced Wednesday it had delivered 7,500 face masks crafted from old uniforms over the last week to frontline workers.
The airline worked with Looptworks to produce masks from 12,284 pounds of uniforms United upcycled, which were sent to employees at San Francisco International Airport and the carrier's San Francisco Maintenance Base.
The washable and reusable masks were used to supplement the supply of face coverings United already provides all employees and customers in accordance with guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
"This was an opportunity to do something extra for our employees to keep them safe while also staying true to our commitment to be one of the most sustainable airlines in the world," United President Janet Lamkin said in a statement. "Recycling these unused uniforms into masks is a natural extension of our broader effort to overhaul our cleaning, social distancing and mitigation measures to ensure we're doing everything possible to keep our employees and our customers safe."
United launched its new United CleanPlus program earlier this month to develop cleaning, safety and social distancing protocols, including touchless kiosks in select locations for baggage check-in, sneeze guards, mandatory face coverings for crew and customers and more.
In addition, the airline is reaching out to travelers 24 hours before their journeys to give them the complimentary opportunity to choose a different flight when it looks like more than 70 percent of the seats will be filled.
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