Passengers who engaged in more serious offenses, “certainly assault or an assault on one of our team members or customers,” the statement continued, will “never be allowed to travel with us again.”
Alaska Air has also followed suit. “Now that the mask policy has been overturned, guests who were banned solely for mask noncompliance will be allowed to purchase tickets on our flights,” said Cailee Olson, a spokeswoman for the airline. “However, some guests whose behavior was particularly egregious will remain banned.”
The Federal Aviation Administration began nearly 1,100 investigations into unruly passengers last year, more than in the previous seven years combined, with many of the incidents involving tensions over masks.
Flight attendants — who have faced heightened hostility, and even violence, when enforcing mask rules — are hopeful that dropping the mask requirement would improve behavior in the sky. However, some have expressed disappointment in the airlines’ move to allow previously banned passengers aboard.
“The timing of this is outrageous. The federal mask mandate has been lifted, but the pandemic is not over,” Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants union that represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 17 airlines, said in an emailed statement.
“The airlines need to slow down and consider all potential consequences of any policy changes. Not one banned passenger should be allowed back until there is a thorough discussion with unions, public health officials and other stakeholders.”
There has been one abrupt reversal after another lately over masks. A few days before the federal mandate for public transportation, including air travel, was set to expire, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended it for two more weeks. On Monday, a federal judge in Florida struck it down. Within 24 hours, every major U.S. airline declared that masks were now optional for passengers and employees on…