In order to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, every U.S. airline requires passengers to wear masks. Two passengers on a Delta flight forced the captains to return the plane to the gate for not complying with the mask requirement.
On July 23, Delta Flight 1227 from Detroit to Atlanta returned to the gate because of the passengers acting non-compliant with crew instructions, CBS News reports. After a short delay, the flight departed for Atlanta.
In a post on the company’s website, Delta lays out its policy on masks. The post states that “customers and employees are required to wear a face mask, or appropriate cloth face covering over their nose and mouth throughout their travel, aligning with best practice guidelines from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention].”
As of July 23, Delta added 120 passengers to the no-fly list for refusing to wear masks. However, it remains unclear whether Delta added the two aforementioned passengers to the list.
No Mask, No Delta Flight: CEO Weighs In
Ed Bastian, Delta CEO spoke on the company’s mask policy during an interview on NBC. “We’ve been steadily and rather aggressively stepping up our enforcement of the mask policy,” Bastian says. “You cannot board a Delta plane unless you have a mask on. If you board the plane and you insist on not wearing your mask, we will insist that you don’t fly Delta into the future. We already have over 100 people we’ve put on that list.”
In addition to the mask mandates, Delta plans to expand its COVID-19 testing to cover its entire workforce. The expansion includes at-home screenings for employees. Delta plans to test employees living in Florida and Texas due to the rapidly rising number of cases in those states.
Bastian issued a memo to the company’s employees in regards to the testing. “By testing 100% of our people, we’re establishing a baseline that helps us make critical decisions to protect everyone’s health and safety — our employees and our customers,” Bastian writes.
[H/T CBS News]
