JetBlue airlines announced on Monday that it is requiring all customers to wear a face covering during travel starting May 4.
Passengers will need to cover their nose and mouth through their entire journey, including during check-in and while boarding, in flight and deplaning.
Passengers will be notified of the new requirement via emails and at the airport. Small children who are not able to maintain a face covering are exempt from the mandate.
“Wearing a face covering isn’t about protecting yourself it’s about protecting those around you,” said Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s president and chief operating officer. “This is the new flying etiquette. Onboard, cabin air is well circulated and cleaned through filters every few minutes but this is a shared space where we have to be considerate of others. We are also asking our customers to follow these CDC guidelines in the airport as well.”
The new guideline follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating that wearing a face covering in public can help stem the spread of coronavirus.
JetBlue crew members have already been required to wear face coverings while working.
The airline has also been limiting the number of available seats on most flights to help provide adequate distance between passengers.
In a statement, JetBlue said it has increased “the rigor of its aircraft cleanings at night and between flights, using disinfectant approved to kill the coronavirus.”
The announcement came the same day that Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) called for mandatory face coverings on flights.
Cohen, who is a senior member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, said he noticed that most of the passengers and flight attendants who were working or traveling were not wearing masks on his flight leaving Washington, D.C., last week.
“Because of this, each person’s health and safety was unnecessarily put at risk,” he said in a letter to administration officials.
A major union representing flight attendants has also urged the federal government’s top transportation and health officials to suspend leisure travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.