Airlines differ on coronavirus safety measures
Piloting a plane might seem simpler for some passengers than navigating a plethora of differing COVID-19 safety policies implemented by the nation’s airlines.
While Alaska and Delta have taken the lead on leaving middle seats unsold, limiting plane capacity, cleaning before every flight and back-to-front boarding, only Frontier checks passengers’ temperatures at the gate and denies boarding to anyone at 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. But Frontier only blocks certain middle seats to ensure more social distancing, while American won’t guarantee any spacing — leading to photos of jam-packed planes circulating on social media.
Most airlines except Allegiant require masks for anyone but young children or those with specified medical conditions, but some will ban noncompliant passengers from future flights while staff on others seem willing to look the other way for major offenses.
“It seems to us that the airlines, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the various states and federal health departments need to get together to develop health standards for all commercial aircraft,” Douglas Kidd, executive director of the National Association of Airline Passengers, which lobbies for flyers’ rights, said in an email.
Instead, it’s a wild West of differing approaches. For instance, Delta, American and Southwest have banned alcoholic drinks on domestic flights to encourage passengers to keep masks on longer. But American still offers them upon request in first class, as does Alaska for premium and first-class passengers on flights longer than 350 miles, while United serves “sealed beverages” but not poured alcohol.
There’s also the issue of mask enforcement — especially
once the plane takes off. While Alaska requires passengers to wear masks unless they’re eating or
drinking, some passengers on recent flights reported that flight attendants weren’t enforcing the rules.