With most airport lounges closed across the United States, a team of clever airport agents at American Airlines banded together in Miami to turn an empty lounge into a production line to create safety masks.
Rather than sit idle, the Admirals Club near Gate 30 at Miami International Airport (MIA) is now staffed by volunteer employees who are creating masks for co-workers and passengers.
The idea was the brainchild of Suzanne Peters, AA’s Senior Manager of Premium Services at MIA. Noting the empty space and the need for masks, she recruited colleagues brought in her own sewing machine.
Peters reached out to gate agents, ramp workers, and ticket agents asking for volunteers, telling everyone to bring their own used shirts, ironing boards, and sewing machines. Many responded.
Small problem: no one knew how to sew a mask.
But one employee had a mother who did…and she taught everyone via FaceTime. Soon, the work began.
AA recently rolled out new uniforms and many workers still have their old uniforms. At first, old AA uniform shirts were used (after being laundered onsite). That turned out to be difficult and the team is now using donated bedsheets and pillowcases. Now the team is producing over 100 masks per day working shifts from 6:00AM to 9:00PM of about 25 at a time. Workers are observing proper social distancing while working, though the assembly-line style of production leads to some interaction. The goal: enough masks for everyone at MIA, where AA has 13,000 employees.
CONCLUSION
Later this week, a huge shipment of masks is supposed to arrive. Perhaps that will shutdown the factory. But valuable work has already been done and the work in Miami has spawned similar efforts at other stations.
Peters told the Miami Herald:
“In addition to the fact that we’re providing a safe option to our colleagues, we are keeping our team busy and that helps morale. It’s been tremendous. Because we’ve asked for volunteers from different areas, it helps to reinforce our relationships.”
That’s a key part of this which should not be dismissed. It will not only be masks that brings airlines through this crisis, but teamwork.
images: American Airlines
Without taking away from the spirit of what these staffers are doing, can just about anyone with a sewing machine and fabric make masks now? Who verifies the efficacy of what are essentially homemade masks? If they’re not of the appropriate grade don’t they offer nothing more than a placebo? Who will end up using these masks?