Covid-19 infections are increasing nationwide, and airplanes are one place where social distancing is all but impossible. Yet resistance to wearing face masks on board may be growing.
Six U.S. airlines have banned nearly 1,500 people from flying for egregiously violating face-mask requirements on airplanes. (That total doesn’t include Southwest and Spirit, which declined to release their no-fly list totals.)
Airlines say they’ve seen a variety of motivations for resistant passengers, including politics. The largest flight attendants’ union says violations have increased as the president has belittled mask-wearing. Most airlines say violations have been relatively steady, though more fliers have coincided with more incidents at some airlines.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounded more alarm by saying it “strongly recommends” face coverings on public transportation.
Yet the Transportation Department is challenging airline restrictions by questioning whether carriers have gone too far by not making exceptions for people with disabilities.
