Delta Adds 460 People Who Refused To Wear A Mask To 'No-Fly List'

Delta airlines has added 460 people to their “no-fly list” after violating mask rule

Unless you live under a rock, or simply refuses to believe the world’s top health experts, scientists, and health organizations — including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the World Health Organization — you are well aware that face masks are one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is absolutely crucial to wear a mask when indoors or inside of an enclosed space — like on an airplane — but for whatever reason, some extremely exhausting people are still refusing to mask up while traveling despite the fact that all major airlines have made mask-wearing mandatory. One major airline — Delta — is actually cracking down on their mask mandate and not only will they kick you off the flight if you don’t comp;y, they’ve added 460 people to their no-fly list to date.

This week Delta sent out a memo to their employees revealing that 460 former passengers were being added to their “no-fly list” as a result of their refusal to make the health and safety of others a priority by wearing a face mask.

“Wearing a mask is among the simplest and most effective actions we can take to reduce transmission, which is why Delta has long required them for our customers and our people,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote in the internal memo obtained by NBC News, which included two videos demonstrating the effectiveness of face masks.

Bastian also pointed out in the memo that despite the major financial woes the airline has experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking preventative measures — such as enforcing mask rules — will slow the spread. The sooner the pandemic is over, the sooner the airline can reverse their losses.

“With the cold-weather months approaching, stopping the spread will be crucial to our recovery from the pandemic and Delta’s return to growth and leadership within our industry,” he wrote.

In May, Delta became one of many airlines to require passengers to wear “non-vented” protective face coverings on flights. On their website, they firmly state the rules that “customers and employees are required to wear a face mask, or appropriate cloth face covering over their nose and mouth throughout their travel, aligning with best practice guidelines from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention].”

In August they kicked two passengers off of a flight for refusing to comply with the rule and just the other day had to issue an apology to customers for the short delay as they escorted a mask-less passenger off the plane in Detroit. It sounds exhausting for the airline and the flight attendants, but when Delta says no mask, no flight…they mean it.

The CDC recently updated their travel guidance, explaining the importance of mask-wearing, not only on an airplane, but at the airport as well.

“Air travel requires spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people and frequently touched surfaces. Most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes,” they wrote. “However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and sitting within 6 feet of others, sometimes for hours, may increase your risk of getting COVID-19.”

So if you have to travel, we know one airline that’s handling the pandemic correctly.