Two airlines allow flight attendants to don face masks

At the request of flight attendants, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have agreed to let flight attendants wear masks while serving passengers on domestic flights to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

American Airlines had previously allowed flight attendants to wear masks only on flights to and from Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Italy.

Representatives from American and Southwest said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not recommend masks for healthy people, but the carriers said they agreed to allow it on a short-term basis.

“While the CDC does not recommend the use of masks by healthy individuals, Southwest recognizes and empathizes with the level of unease among some of our f light attendants, and their safety and peace of mind are important to us,” Southwest spokesman Brian Parrish said. “Therefore, Southwest flight attendants are now allowed to wear face masks at any time while at work, including on board the aircraft until further notice.”

Southwest said it did not have masks to provide its flight attendants but would allow them to bring masks from home.

For weeks, the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents more than 50,000 f light attendants on about 20 airlines, has asked airlines to let their members wear masks and gloves and to make masks available to passengers to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Last week, employees of American Airlines wrote to Chief Executive Doug Parker asking that all employees be allowed to wear gloves and masks while at work, whether customers are around or not.