Delta passengers who refuse to wear a mask will now find themselves on a list that has traditionally been reserved for suspected terrorists.
According to a memo to employees from Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, 460 people have been added to the no-fly list for refusing to comply with company policy on wearing masks during flights.
"Throughout the pandemic, we have focused our efforts on protecting our people, our customers and our communities," states the memo, which was obtained by ABC News.
"Wearing a mask is among the simplest and most effective actions we can take to reduce transmission, which is why Delta has long required them for our customers and our people," Bastian wrote. "As of this week, we’ve added 460 people to our no-fly list for refusing to comply with our mask requirement."
.@Delta CEO: “As of this week, we’ve added 460 people to our no-fly list for refusing to comply with our mask requirement” pic.twitter.com/l6EKbhfZ06
— davidshepardson (@davidshepardson) October 23, 2020
Delta’s not alone. Other major airlines have added some passengers to their no-fly lists as well.
“American already enforces this policy at the gate and will deny boarding to customers who don’t comply. American now may also deny future travel for customers who refuse to wear a face covering,” states an American Airlines press release issued in June. “American made this change after working in conjunction with Airlines for America on an industrywide response.”
A Frontier Airlines spokesman wrote much the same to Fox Business: “We are maintaining a record of passengers who refuse to comply with crew member instructions by not wearing a mask and are placing them on a list that precludes them from flying with us in the future (typically for a specified period of time).”
Mask confrontations on airlines have been a regular occurrence. Some incidents have been publicized, such as when a mother and her 2-year-old son were kicked off a flight because the toddler wouldn't wear one, other times it has appeared to be political, for example when a Trump supporter was removed from a recent flight for lowering his mask to eat a snack.