JetBlue will require all passengers to wear face coverings effective May 4th both at the airport and onboard. But how enforceable in practice is the new masks requirement? Will planes start diverting if passengers refuse to wear them once a plane takes off?
JetBlue Will Mandate Masks, But Not Provide Them
Effective May 4, 2020, face coverings will be required at all points of the travel experience including at:
- check-in
- airport concourses
- boarding
- onboard
- deplaning
- baggage claim
Joanna Geraghty, President and Chief Operating Officer of JetBlue said:
“Wearing a face covering isn’t about protecting yourself it’s about protecting those around you. “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.”
JetBlue has stated nothing about providing masks. Rather, the impetus is on passengers to bring their own personal protective equipment with them, as outlined by the CDC.
Small children who are unable to maintain a mask will be exempted from this requirement. No age cutoff is specified.
Penalty For Non-Compliance? Will “Flight Diverted Due To Mask” Be The New Norm?
It is easy enough to deny boarding to a passengers who refuses to wear a mask during check-in or boarding. But what about the wise guy who takes his mask off in-flight and refuses to put it back on? What if flight attendants ask nicely then ask sternly and he refuses? Perhaps he puts it on for a few seconds then takes it off again, complaining that he has trouble breathing. Will JetBlue now start diverting flights when passengers violate crew member instructions? Won’t that process potentially put more passengers in dangers by leaving them onboard the aircraft longer and exposing them to additional ground staff?
A lot of questions, but so far not a lot of answers. JetBlue has addressed the rules, but not the penalties for non-compliance. I’ve reached out and asked them what happens when passengers refuse to comply but have not heard back.
CONCLUSION
Face coverings will soon be required on JetBlue. You’ll be expected to bring them yourself. It will be interesting to see how aggressive JetBlue will be in enforcing this once an aircraft takes off. Expect other airlines to soon follow in making masks mandatory throughout the journey.
Do you think this will be a non-issue and people will obediently comply or will JetBlue be faced with using a heavy-hand to enforce its new mask rule?
I could see Congress/FAA passing a law allowing for fines if masks are required and not used by a passenger onboard.
Also, there are other penalties as well – JetBlue could ban that person from flying their airline again. I don’t think any state penalties for not wearing a mask would apply as long as it didn’t happen on the ground.
On the plane, I think this would fall under the “comply with flight crew instructions” requirement. And they can certainly deny boarding to someone not wearing a mask. In the airport, though, it is really not a jetBlue issue, but rather up to the local authorities and they’ll follow their jurisdiction’s rules.
I could see some sort of mask acknowledgement(clicking a box and agreeing, kinda like BE stipulations) being required at checkout when buying a ticket. Therefore, no mask, no board.
The bigger question is how effective this mask idea is. That’s another conversation.
I will file a suit the very first day that this is implemented… my lung power is not strong enough to breathe through a mask. ADA will be my basis.
Given how some Americans seem to take pride in flouting rules and recommendations during a pandemic, unless there is a legal rule to fine people, some will just ignore wearing the mask.
i think it is a just fine short term solution to a large problem.
If your lungs are too weak to handle a mask, especially when there are masks available that can accommodate impaired people, you shouldn’t be flying at all.