Airline to give passengers yellow cards for refusing to wear masks

SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines is taking a page out of the soccer refereeing handbook in its bid to enforce in-flight mask-wearing rules amid complaints of passengers refusing to cover up.

Starting this week, the airline will hand yellow cards to noncompliant passengers, advising them that it is their “final notice” and that a written post-flight report about them will be made. From there, if a passenger continues to refuse, it will be noted in the report and a decision could be made to ban the offending passenger from future flights.

“Overwhelmingly, those who fly with us understand and appreciate the importance of wearing masks and face coverings during this time of COVID-19,” a statement Tuesday on the airline’s blog said. “We also rely heavily on our guests to do the right thing for the greater good of everyone onboard our flights.

“Our flight crews encounter moments when some travelers disregard or disobey our mask requirement. It creates tension for many of our passengers who do have their face coverings on. So, a change is needed.”

Passengers refusing to wear masks prior to takeoff, will be denied access to or removed from the plane. The yellow cards apply to noncompliance while in-flight.

Soccer referees issue yellow cards as a caution to players committing serious fouls — though not those dangerous enough to merit a “red card” ejection. Any additional yellow card warnings result in an automatic red card.