United Airlines will not require passengers with chronic conditions to wear a mask.
Leading U.S. airlines do not plan to force passengers to wear medical masks in flight and will focus on their sense of responsibility. This was reported on Tuesday by CNN television company, which received copies of new instructions of air carriers, designed for flight attendants and pilots.
American Airlines will allow passengers not to be allowed in the cabin without masks, but if the passenger is already on board, the role of stewardesses becomes “more informative than enforcing” the rules of epidemiological safety. Flight attendants are advised to use means of persuasion against those who refuse to cover their faces, “but do not follow the path of escalation.
United Airlines will take into account many exceptions to the general rule and, for example, will not require passengers with chronic diseases to wear a mask. In the event of a quarrel on board, flight attendants will be required to use the “de-escalation skills” of the situation and seating the contestants.
JetBlue Airways requires passengers to be reminded that “they and crew members must now have their faces covered. The air carrier acknowledges in advance that “challenges and problems” will arise in the course of enforcing the rule. It is therefore recommended that flight attendants try not to bring the situation on board to extremes, and use all their experience and skills to minimize excesses. JetBlue does not see the customer’s refusal to use the mask as a good enough reason to change the route, land and remove the intruder from the aircraft.
Passenger traffic in the U.S. has been reduced by almost 95% due to the pandemic. Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway Foundation, said that back in April he sold his shares in four leading U.S. airlines. The total stake was 10%, was acquired for $7-8 billion in 2016 and sold last month for $6.1 billion.
The coronavirus outbreak was reported in late 2019 in Central China and has spread to most countries. On 11 March, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. All countries and territories were forced to take various emergency sanitary-epidemiological measures, resulting in a deep international economic crisis. According to the IMF forecast, this year the world economy will see a 3% decline.