The airline industry says the latest source of tension in the skies: face masks.
Experts say as travel demand has slowly ticked up during the pandemic, leading to fuller planes and some airlines ending efforts to facilitate social distancing, most US airlines have mandated crew and passenger masks as a way to limit the spread of COVID-19 on flights.
Just as in many other public settings such as stores and restaurants, some people are refusing to follow airlines' requirements — and it's leading to confrontation.
Research shows that masks help prevent the wearer — who may have the virus without knowing it or showing symptoms — from spreading it to others. The more people who go mask-less, the higher the chance of an asymptomatic carrier spreading the virus.
Most of the major carriers began requiring passengers to wear masks in early May.
At first, the requirement was barely enforceable, with airlines specifically telling crews not to take any action to enforce the rule.
By June, however, in conjunction with the trade organization Airlines for America, airlines announced that they were doubling down on the requirement, introducing enforcement measures that could include banning passengers who refused to cooperate.
Airline officials report several high-profile incidents in recent weeks have shown that even as most passengers comply, the mask requirement has the potential to cause conflicts.
As recently as last weekend, Industry observers noted that a passenger was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight for refusing to wear a mask.
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