Finnair became the latest airline to scrap mask requirements on its flights to and from destinations that no longer require it. Southwest had an old system, and Montgomery said it broke down during even mild hiccups, forcing the employees to call in. One of the biggest things they are saying is, We are sick of this confrontation we are having on flights, Orlando said. Test at least five days after exposure and if result is positive, go into isolation for five days. The airplane is a unique, but controlled environment for everyone's safety. For more information, please visitSouthwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon. A Dutch flag carrier KLM spokesperson told TPG it finds the decision "inappropriate, given the phase the pandemic is in,"and said it will "no longer monitor this from March 23," and instead "strongly recommend that our passengers wear a face mask on board in line with EASA and ICAO guidelines.". A placard declaring, Another victim of SWAs outdated technology, with a graphic showing a stuck software progress bar. We are looking at a huge summer of travel and they dont want to deal with employees struggling and quitting after they struggled to build up staff all pandemic long., A month ago, a Louisiana man was taken off a Southwest flight at Orlando International Airport after he reportedly became irate over being forced to wear a mask, according to an arrest affidavit. 2023 Southwest Airlines Co.All Rights Reserved. Citing the changing guidelines surrounding hospitalization rates and local pandemic requirements, a number of travel industry stakeholders had hoped to see the mask mandate expire on the original March 18 cutoff. Frontier Airlines: Effective immediately, passengers and employees are no longer required to wear masks on Frontier flights. Were applying stringent cleaning practices such as using electrostatic and anti-microbial spray treatments in the cabin, utilizing High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters onboard, and providing masks and cleaning wipes for anyone who requests them. For additional information, we also invite you to contactAirlines for America, our trade association, for an industry perspective on this development. This problem relying on older or deficient software that needs updating is known as incurring technical debt, meaning there is a gap between what the software needs to be and what it is. For example, if crew members from Buffalo dont arrive in Baltimore because their flight was canceled, the employees have had to manually call in to let the company know where they are and get hotels arranged for them. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Even as Southwests chief executive at the time, Gary Kelly, objected to the pilots claims, saying Southwest had wonderful technology, he conceded that the companys tools could use improvement. Share. However, even with the shiniest hardware, the software that plays a critical role inside many systems is too often antiquated and, in some cases, decades old. Specifically, face coverings can be removed on flights to or from Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Grenada, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago. April 11, 2022 / 5:15 PM / MoneyWatch. And these. left: 277px !important; Update on Federal Mask Mandate. height: 6px; Overseas airlines are having to cancel hundreds of flights as they grapple with coronavirus -related staffing shortages weeks after they ditched rules . March 15, 2022 6:34pm. You can see how this can easily cascade to a systemwide halt, as happened this week. Robert Smith/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images. "Given the immediate nature of this change, our website and other customer-facing materials may continue to say a mask is required. html[lang="es"] div.footer div.flex-placement > b:nth-child(7) { So Im really happy for them.. This is why we cant just keep leaving the operation of more and more of our infrastructure and our lives to antiquated software and self-interested executives. Yes, all of our aircraft are equipped with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, which remove 99.97%* of airborne particlessimilar to technology found in hospitals. color: #636363; Charter airline TUI says masks can be dropped for those traveling to or from England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, but flights to and from Scotland and some overseas countries, like the US, still require face coverings. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. In March in an open letter to the company, the union even placed updating the creaking scheduling technology above its demands for increased pay. It accepts gaiters, as long as they have at. The mask mandate on public transportation was implemented in January 2021 by President Joe Biden and the policy was set to expire on March 18 but was extended to April 18, and then again to May 3, frustrating travelers and surprising some analysts. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider "Given travel's slow economic recovery, and in light of the improved public health metrics in the U.S. and medical advancements to prevent the worst outcomes of COVID-19, we encourage the administration to immediately remove travel requirements that no longer fit with the current environment and to set clear timelines and metrics for when others will be lifted,"the letter said. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Feb. 22, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that it would keep it in place until May 3 to allow more time to study theBA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirusthat is responsible for the majority of cases in the country. Customers at the check-in area for Southwest Airlines at Denver International Airport on Thursday. Airlines have not come out with a public stance on whether the mandate should be extended. Taking every barrier that we can out of the process to bring back our travelers is terrific, and heres one more barrier down.. Well continue to monitor public health guidance, and federal requirements, while always keeping safety as our uncompromising priority. Except these. an estimated net worth in the tens of millions of dollars. Although COVID infection rates are nowhere near where they were earlier during the pandemic, they have recently gone up. But thats yet another layer of software that has to be written and integrated into whatever software the airline uses for scheduling personnel. Southwest Airlines announced that because the TSA is no longer enforcing the policy, employees and passengers will similarly no longer be required to wear face. Can I bring my own wipes and hand sanitizers? The National Read Across America Day takes place every year on March 2, Geisels birthday. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Now that many countries have reopened and . "While the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, is no longer enforcing its mask mandate, it may take time for individual airports to roll back their mask requirements," the airline said in a statement. Bottom line /* Air Booking Select - Fare benefit sub-label workaround */ United, American, Southwest, Delta,Alaska and other airlines said late Mondaythey were dropping their face mask requirementeffective immediately, givena federal judge's ruling in Floridaand the White House response to it. The staff (counter and on the jet) were super cool, fun, and professional. Southwest Airlines scrubbed thousands of flights again Wednesday as the company faced frustration from passengers and scrutiny from federal officials over its handling of its schedule in the. What should I do if I have been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 and have an upcoming flight? AIRLINES OFFER FREE CHANGESon many plane tickets. Southwest announced on its website that masks are optional for employees and passengers, saying "we encourage individuals to make the best decision to support their personal wellbeing." The aircraft landed safely. Photo Illustration by Leslie dela Vega/The New York Times; photograph by Weerayut Ranmai/EyeEm, via Getty Images. Breeze said on its website that masks are now optional on its flights. News 6 is Getting Results. as well as other partner offers and accept our. The union for flight attendants at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is asking the White House and other aviation regulators to drop face mask mandates that have become a hallmark of flying during . The layered approach to safety and security includes masks. Offers may be subject to change without notice. LinkedIn has officially entered its cringe era, and its working. Montgomery told me that employees had sent in screenshots that showed their being left on hold on the phone for three, six, seven, eight and 12 hours and even one of 17 hours just to let the company know their whereabouts and get hotel rooms arranged. "We look forward to seeing your smiles on board & encourage kindness & respect for those who continue to mask," the airline tweeted, thanking guests for masking up. Do you use HEPA filters onboard your plane? .air-check-in-edit-contact-information-banner--link { .swa-footer--copyright-text, .footer-copyright--text { As a result of this development, effective immediately, masks are no longer required onboard Southwest Airlines, or in most airports, but certain cities, states, and countries may still require masks. But the candidates currently in Baltimore might also be on hold for hours, trying to let the company know of their whereabouts. "You may experience inconsistent enforcement during the next 24 hours as this news is more broadly communicated remember to show understanding and patience with others who may not be aware enforcement is no longer required. Its been an open secret within Southwest for some time, and a shameful one, that the company desperately needed to modernize its scheduling systems. Indicates external site which may or may not meet accessibility guidelines, 2023 "It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools, and at sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration system that aircraft do," executives from the US' largest carriers said in a March 23 letter to Biden. All rights reserved. So far we dont see a rise in hospitalizations, Jordan said. We appreciate the cooperation and compliance efforts of our Customers and Employees as policies have evolved. display: block; div.footer div.flex-placement b a:hover { Southwest Airlines CEO says airlines not pushing for it. A Southwest Airlines flight attendant, wearing one mask, demonstrates the use of an oxygen mask at the outset of flight from Burbank, California, to Las Vegas in June 2021. Within just minutes, US airlines launched "masks optional" messages. } Its a bit like constructing a building. .swa-footer--copyright-text a{ The mandate has been extended three times since it went into effect in February 2021. However, on Monday, a Florida federal judge struck down the Administration's mandate. (Europe has such a rule, though the implementation has hit a lot of snags.). Airlines,unions and consumer advocates pushed the federal government for months to mandate the policy, so flight attendants would have backing when encountering passenger resistance but found no support from President Donald Trump's administration. Without more government regulation and oversight and greater accountability, we may see more fiascos like this one, which most likely stranded hundreds of thousands of Southwest passengers perhaps more than a million over Christmas week. An airline-by-airline look at facemask policies as of Tuesday, April 19. Southwest Airlines: No. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Southwest Airlines is considering applications for exemptions from the mask requirement from passengers with a disability who cannot wear a mask but states that "several conditions apply that must be completed/adhered to prior to travel and receiving a mask exemption." For flights to and from the United States: html[lang="es"] .header-flyout--promo-section .link--text div { font-size: 12px !important; } Opens new window. white-space: normal; } The CDC advises that you wear a well-fitting, high-quality mask - ideally an N95 or equivalent for 10 days following your exposure. You might be wondering how Southwest can lose track of where the crews are and why anyone has to call in at all, since the company presumably should know exactly which flights got canceled and who flew where, based on passenger lists. It has been called Dr. Seuss Day because of this. December 29, 2022. Airlines including Delta, American, United and Southwest, plus cargo carriers and industry group Airlines for America, are all calling for an end to both the mask mandate on public. The vast majority of our employees, I think, are very happy that they now have a choice, he said. html[lang="es"] div.footer div.flex-placement > div:nth-child(9) { Use of the Southwest websites and our Company Information constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions. Terms & Conditions. That's why Spirit has double-downed on the mask policy. over 4,0000 mask-related reports were made to the Federal Aviation Administration. .compare-fares-secondary--row:nth-of-type(5) .compare-fares-secondary--header-cell .compare-fares-secondary--label-addendum::after { } It will eventually be paid by someone. Passengers who refuse to wear masks face fines and other consequences. Thereafter, the White House announced the masking order is not in effect, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will not enforce the federal mask mandate at this time. Updated: 8:23 PM EDT April 18, 2022. . While no longer required, customers and crewmembers are welcome to continue wearing masks in our terminals and on board our aircraft." Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines both directed. Meanwhile, my not-that-fancy smartphones memory holds what not that long ago would have been an unimaginable 128GB, or 137,438,953,472 bytes. 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