Airlines will require masks on passengers

DALLAS — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said Thursday they will soon require passengers to cover their faces during flights, following the lead of JetBlue Airways.

The move comes as airlines big and small contemplate how to comply with social-distancing recommendations in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Most flights are nearly empty these days — air travel is down 95 percent from a year ago, and the average domestic flight has 17 passengers, according to industry figures.

But recently, passengers have posted photos on social media of crowded planes with many passengers who weren’t covering their faces despite the recommendation by federal health officials to wear a mask when in public to prevent spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.

In some cases, airlines created the crowds by canceling other flights. During a three-hour layover at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Vince Warburton noticed a crowd gathering in the gate area before his American Airlines flight to Los Angeles.

“People were laughing at the fact that (gate agents) were encouraging us to social-distance while boarding the plane, and there were so many people in line,” said the 32-year-old video engineer, who was commuting to a job.

“When we got on the plane, we were all sitting right next to each other,” said Warburton, who was flying on a discount ticket and was assigned a middle seat in a full row. “People were very uneasy. I was very uncomfortable.”

Airline executives say they know that customers must feel safe before they’ll venture from sheltering at home to getting on a plane, and they have taken some steps.

This week, JetBlue became the first U.S. airline to announce it will require passengers to wear face coverings during flights, starting next week.

Earlier Thursday, Frontier Airlines said that it would begin requiring masks May 8. Delta and United announced they would make masks mandatory starting Monday. Until now, those airlines were encouraging passengers to wear masks, and several required flight attendants to wear them.