United Airlines will join American and Southwest in eliminating medical exemptions to the carrier’s mask mandate. If you have a medical condition which precludes you from wearing a mask, you will not be welcomed on United until after the pandemic subsides.
United Airlines: No More Medical Exemptions To Mandatory Mask Policy
The news was revealed during an invitation-only “United for Business” conference this morning with:
- Patrick Quayle – VP International Network and Alliances
- Jake Cefolia – SVP Worldwide Sales
- Mike Erbeck – VP Newark Hub
- Dr. James Merlino – Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Cleveland Clinic
While United strengthened its mask mandate only yesterday, this goes even further. United had said that effective July 24th customers would be required to wear masks in:
- check-in kiosks
- customer service counters
- United Clubs
- gate areas
- baggage claim areas
Furthermore, only children under two and those with a verifiable medical condition would be exempt. United later indicated in a memo to employees that it would adopt an approach similar to Delta in which travelers claiming an exemption would need to dial into a health expert who would clear them to fly or deny them boarding.
But with American and Southwest going even further last night in eliminating medical exemptions, United will also no longer
The official policy remains potentially flexible:
If a passenger believes that there are extraordinary circumstances that warrant an exception, they should contact United or speak to a representative at the airport.
But I am told this will be updated soon and that passengers who are medically unable to wear a face mask should not be flying at all.
CONCLUSION
As masks move from divisive to more mainstream, expect all carriers to follow. As I outlined earlier today, it is legal. And while some still question the effectiveness of such masks, this relatively non-invasive step may protect others. That should be good enough for any travelers of conscience.
image: United
Except that it is not legal. Your interpretation of the law is absurd, and you’re not a lawyer. It sounds more like wishful thinking on your part rather than anything resembling sound legal analysis.
LOL. Why don’t you enlighten me sweetheart? Please provide sound legal analysis of your own outlining why such conduct is illegal.
It’s illegal to ban those of us with medical conditions that can’t wear a mask. The acaa makes it clear that my condition is a disability and I can’t be discriminated against.
Read the text of the law…
Nevermind legality. It is UNSAFE for YOU, the mask-refusnik, to fly. You see, when a plane goes up, the cabin altitude goes up as well. Being in an airliner at cruise altitude the air pressure in the cabin could be the same as being at 7000 feet above sea level. If your respiration is so impaired that you cannot wear a mask at sea level, then flying could kill you! So, buh-bye.
I’m never flying United again. I cancelled a trip due to COVID-19 concerns and would not give me a cash refund. Done!
anti-covidtyranny is a Covid denier. Hence, not sane and anti-science. It is legal to bar people from flying who pose a risk to other passengers under all US Law. I say that as: 1: a lawyer; and 2. a certified flight instructor-instrument and airplane since 1981. W/that said, I would not call “anti-covidtyranny” “sweetheart” which condescends. I would just call anti-covidtyranny dumb.
So much for science from the alleged lawyer……
There is no proof that any particular person who isn’t sick poses a risk to other passengers.
For anyone under 55 covid is less harmful than the flu. So good luck proving “risk” for the lawful banning of persons with disabilities.
Finally, unless they are mandating p100 respirators, then they will be less than 20% effective at stopping viral material. But hey you clearly know the science. So much for being a “non-science” denier.
Brandon states: “There is no proof that any particular person who isn’t sick poses a risk to other passengers.”
Brandon could not be more wrong. People who have Covid, and are completely asymptomatic, can pass Covid. Moreover, people under 55 are dying from Covid at a much much higher rate than they would from the flu.
As a practicing lawyer, I have developed certain insights into the way some people think. Brandon is uneducable and if insists he has some health condition that means he cannot wear a mask, Brandon won’t be flying until a vaccine is had. Brandon not flying w/no mask makes it safer for the rest of us. Thanks Brandon for staying off airplanes or wearing a mask. It’s common sense!
You are a special kind of stupid. I won’t be responding anymore. It’s just sad you are a ‘lawyer”. You can’t even be bothered to look at the data. I have provided the data all day long on my twitter, and it’s truly sad that people like you are so partisan and gullible.
Matthew, you are a smug bastard and don’t deserve to enjoy the freedoms of
This great country. Why don’t you go take your mask propaganda to Venezuela or Cuba you loser.
Not a lawyer? Matthew IS a lawyer and not only that. He is MI-6, agent 0085. Better watch out, he’s got a radio in his shoe and a laser in his watch.
I’ve been wearing a mask since late February. At first, I thought I was a weirdo but now I know that I was ahead of my time.
Science is not partisan . Your ignorance is.
Go dig a hole and go away from society, put us out of your misery
that is not right and when can we fly to india …can someone answer my question I have a 10 years visa and I want to go back to India to visit my family and friend ?
It’s not legal that you spew your COVID infected breath on me, COVIDIOT! Your rights to be ignorant and dangerous are not more important than my right to stay healthy from a deadly virus for which there is no cure or vaccine!
Here’s a novel concept. If YOU are afraid for YOUR health, YOU take safety measures YOURSELF instead of making everyone else take responsibility for YOU. Protecting YOUR health and safety is not everyone else’s job. That’s YOURS. Side note, many people are unable to wear a mask, for reasons that you have no right to know. Be respectful towards others disabilities.
They can’t. Their lawyers need to look into the ACAA soon.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Carrier_Access_Act
See my analysis here:
https://liveandletsfly.com/mask-medical-exceptions-legal/
If you object to it, show me where I am wrong, don’t just give me a link to a Wikipedia article.
@Matthew
“..construe the inability to wear a mask as a condition pursuant to §382.23 that allows an airline to ask for a medical certificate. Such a medical certificate is impossible to produce since there are no rapid tests available..”
Parsing §382.23 it would be the case if one was claiming they were positive for COVID or only had a disability explicitly listed in subsection [(i~iii or (c)(1)] that the airline could request a Medical certificate – that being the case Delta Dr. requirement could expose itself to litigation.
My SIL is an ER nurse and back in March went on FLMA because she can can not work wearing an N95 – she was accommodated working as a telephonic advise nurse. So its more than being anti-mask or having respiratory issue of not being able to wear a mask for extended periods.
§382 and specifically §382.27(8) is probably why airlines have not pushed on support animals. It is a little disconcerting to learn that psychiatric service animals are thing.
(8) Transportation of an emotional support or psychiatric service animal in the cabin.
Thanks Yoni
People that will not wear mask on plane are the same people who bring emotional support animal. Its ridiculous and not fair to other passengers or cabincrew
So…..someone who has panic attacks when something is over their mouth and needs a familiar source of comfort to help them get through the day is a bad person? I’ll have to remember that next time I think I’m a good person. Thanks for the info!
I conclude you lack the courage to post someone calling you out for using the term “sweetheart”? Disappointing. And duly noted.
What are you talking about?
Read a stream out of context. Sorry!
You got it right Matthew.
“the carrier must provide a written explanation of the decision”
A) there is no proof I’m a carrier, and the asymptomatic aren’t spreaders.
B) they are going to have a hard time reasonably banning people on “safety grounds” when previously symptomatic people have flown and not spread, and also the rates of positivity are in the order of 100/100,000. That doesn’t reasonably constitute a threat to public safety or even the local mask mandates wouldn’t provide an exemption.
Lastly, they have to provide a written explanation on why they can’t reasonably have me fly. I’m taking this to court. As someone who Flys weekly with severe asthma, I will not be put in this position. Delta even found a more reasonable workaround. I hope to meet with my attorney by the end of the week to challenge this as I have already once been harassed by a gate agent who didn’t know the airlines own policy.
@Brandon the 10 day written reason has a very limited scope based on the laws specified in the prior subsection (c) :
“(c) You may refuse to provide transportation to any passenger on the basis of safety, as provided in 49 U.S.C. 44902 or 14 CFR 121.533, or to any passenger whose carriage would violate FAA or TSA requirements or applicable requirements of a foreign government.”
The elephant in the room is in order to equitably administer the mask ban for the airlines taking this stance – all passengers and crew will need to have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of flying or every 7-14 days for crew and airport employee’s.
Otherwise you can pop a Tylenol don your mask and still fly, even with a positive COVID symptoms or test.
That said it would be far safer for all to have to test in order to fly.
Yoni, but how can they “prove” it’s unsafe for me to fly when their own policies previously found it to be acceptable without incident? I flew less than 2 weeks ago and nobody got sick, or went to he hospital.
I have been flying regularly (weekly) for the past two months, and except for a 2 month hiatus due to being forced to WFH, I was flying weekly prior to that. If this had been policy from the beginning, I could see an argument. But they specifically stated on numerous occasions that “their filtration systems” filter the virus and “passengers are safe”. So, do they have evidence that wasn’t the case now? To me, this hinges on them proving my presence aboard an aircraft is “unsafe”, and they will have an extraordinarily hard time proving that.
You write like a twat. At least the comment section is alive and aware of more garbage.
Reasonable accomodations would be to ask for a Covid test 48-72 hrs prior to flying
Or put them in the front
Or isolate them
This would reduce possible danger to other passengers to a safe level
Airlines are necessary for travel to hospitals for some people, so this is a must thing to solve and really not all that hard to solve with science and education
Wikipedia??? Any can change that. I could change it to read that the law has a seldom used exception, airline bloggers.
Wikipedia is so wacky. Obvious changes get changed back but there’s some malicious wrong info there that’s less obvious. Once I found a science project error and corrected it but malicious administrators changed it back and threatened me. They are happy when a student uses it and gets something wrong.
I gave the act prior to that, the wiki was for reference. Geez, you karens are too much.
Did nobody read the article, if you have a condition you will have to consult with an airline doctor. If they clear you then you won’t need a mask.
I spoke to them, as did Matt. Both United and American, the two carriers I have regularly used, have told me specifically there is no more exemptions, period. Only delta I have seen has a more reasonable (and I’m not going to say it’s reasonable given it’s very invasive nature) policy.
I spoke with the exec team customer care that I dealt with a month ago after a gate agent didn’t even know American’s on policy on exemptions.
Chris, Brandon is correct. No more medical exemptions on United (hence, the reason for my article).
The ADA requires “reasonable modifications” of policies, practices, or procedures, such as the face mask rule, when necessary to provide goods and services to individuals with disabilities. However, the ADA does not require a public accommodation to permit an individual to participate in, or benefit from, the goods or services if that individual poses a “direct threat” to the health or safety of others. Whether something rises to the level of direct threat depends on various factors and requires an individualized assessment of the medical evidence. The business carries the burden to prove the direct threat defense. Does the risk of spreading the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) qualify as a “direct threat”? Cases like this may start to provide an answer to that question.
According to the law, it is illegal because numerous experts have routes that flying is safe and that filters on planes next to eliminate viruses and that “flying poses an unlikely risk of catching a virus”. Since these claims were touted by the airlines to get people flying again, not allowing people who have valid disabilities (think if you were abused and had a cloth shoved over your face and have ptsd as a result) is discrimination because other wise that person would be able to fly without restrictions. There is a market being sued for this vary reason right now… They have no direct threat because the rush of transmission on a plane is low according to many experts .
Nope. ADA doesn’t apply. ACAA does.
It’s not legal that you spew your COVID infected breath on me, COVIDIOT! Your rights to be ignorant and dangerous are not more important than my right to stay healthy from a deadly virus for which there is no cure or vaccine!
ACAA is the same as the ada. The same strategy applies.
The ADA says differently. There are medical conditions that prevent people from wearing masks. The litigation will be problematic.
ADA is not applicable here.
How about explaining why the ADA doesn’t apply?
Wear a [redacted by admin] mask and STFU you selfish [redacted by admin].
It is going to be fascinating how this plays out.
Just wear a mask people. I have asthma and have to wear a mask for 12 hrs at work and I don’t complain. Kids don’t even behave like that, it just stupid.
Congrats on your extremely mild form of asthma. Some of us use a rescue inhaler multiple times a day just to keep it under control. The AAFA even says it’s not reasonable to expect severe asthmatics to wear them. Lastly, the government deemed the exception necessary for their own mandates, so I doubt they would have been so bold if they didn’t think it reasonable.
When air lines get sued for not letting a disabled on a flight then they will change this .
Something to think about. Airplanes use recycled air . People have gotten sick from it and proven even the flu can be transferred this way. Mask wearing will not prevent covid if breathing it in anyway as will go through the mask if air is affected as proven masks won’t protect against this and don’t fully protect from getting covid but only a prevention. Is this not more of a consideration the airlines should consider.
you must make an individualized assessment, based on reasonable judgment that relies on current medical knowledge or on the best available objective evidence, to ascertain:
(i) The nature, duration, and severity of the risk;
(ii) The probability that the potential harm to the health and safety of others will actually occur; and
(iii) Whether reasonable modifications of policies, practices, or procedures will mitigate the risk.
—-
i) Duration and severity are not specified.
ii) probably of potential harm are not specified and what is the criteria?
iii) Others wearing masks allegedly mitigate risk, so the marginal difference is less than 10%.
“In pooled analysis, we found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks”
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article
https://funkyimg.com/i/36ssg.jpeg
Remove my comments, I don’t want my picture on this site and I don’t think you should just post them without a user’s consent
I don’t know what you mean. You must have uploaded that picture…I certainly did not.