Two airline CEOs said that masks don’t help much in preventing COVID19 exposure inside planes. The comments came from American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly during a hearing about the $54 billion aid that the industry received from the federal government.
The topic of masks came up during Senator Roger Wicker’s question. Kelly said that “masks don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment”. Parker then agreed with Kelly. He said: “I concur. An aircraft is the safest place you can be”. Parker added that “It’s true of all our aircraft—they all have the same HEPA filters and air flow”.
However, American Airlines issued a statement regarding what Parker said during the hearing. The airline clarified that Parker agreed with Kelly’s comment on the quality of air inside the plane and not about the mask requirement.
Not All Planes Have HEPA Filters
Sara Nelson who is the president of the Association of Flight Attendants also testified during the hearing. She said that not all aircraft are equipped with sophisticated air filtration systems. Some older planes don’t have HEPA filters according to Nelson.
Nelson added that “I think that is probably for the medical community to decide rather than me”.
Mask Requirement
Masks are required by the federal government on planes. The Biden administration also extended the mask mandate until March next year following the emergence of the omicron variant.
Democrat Sen. Ed Markey criticized the remarks of the two airline CEOs. Markey said that “I’m shocked that some of the CEOs here today have suggested we no longer need masks mandates on planes”. He added that “In the face of Omicron, children under five who still cannot be vaccinated…and that we still allow unvaccinated people on planes”.
Nelson agreed with Markey. She said that “I believe that the government has taken a very responsible approach to this”. She added that “We believe it should continue to stay in place. It’s a workplace safety issue”.
Nelson also noted that one of the reasons why people are willing to buy airline tickets today is because of the safety protocols in place. She added that the mask mandate is one of the reasons why passengers today are confident to travel again.
