JetBlue will be the first U.S. airline to require passengers wear a face covering on flights starting May 4, CNN reports.
"Wearing a face covering isn’t about protecting yourself, it's about protecting those around you," Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue, said in a statement. "This is the new flying etiquette. Onboard, cabin air is well circulated and cleaned through filters every few minutes but this is a shared space where we have to be considerate of others. We are also asking our customers to follow these CDC guidelines in the airport as well."
All JetBlue crew members were also recently required to wear face coverings while working. Other major airlines, such as Delta, United, and American Airlines, have limited their requirements to only flight attendants.
Twitter user Erin Strine posted a video on Twitter over the weekend, criticizing American Airlines for failing to impose some sort of social distancing guidelines on her pretty packed flight. Strine told ABC News that she was traveling to visit her family following the death of her grandmother. "I wanted to come home to be here for my parents, and my dad especially, you know it wasn’t a decision I made lightly," she said.
In March, JetBlue handed down a lifetime ban on a passenger who boarded a flight from New York to Palm Beach fully aware prior to takeoff that he tested positive for COVID-19. It was only upon landing that he informed the crew of his diagnosis. 114 passengers were on board.
