The major U.S. carriers have agreed to take a harder line on enforcing passenger facial covering requirements aboard their aircraft, according to industry trade organization Airlines for America.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all have agreed to a set of policies around facial coverings that include "consequences for noncompliance." Those consequences are up to each individual carrier, according to A4A. United, for example, on Monday said that as of June 18, it would place passengers who do not comply on an "internal travel restriction list" and that they would not be allowed to fly on United "for a duration of time to be determined pending a comprehensive incident review." That step would come after flight attendants notify the passengers of the requirement and offer to provide them with a mask, if needed, according to United.
[Update, June 16]: American Airlines, which already said it would deny boarding to travelers not wearing a face covering, amended its policy as of Tuesday to include possibly denying future travel to passengers who refuse to comply.
The policies agreed upon by the airlines also include communicating with passengers before the flight of mask requirements as well as onboard announcements of the requirements and potential consequences, according to A4A.
"U.S. airlines are very serious about requiring face coverings on their flights," A4A president and CEO Nicholas Calio said in a statement. "Face coverings are one of several public health measures recommended by the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] as an important layer of protection for passengers and customer-facing employees."