Less than 48 hours after a doctor’s tweet and photo showing a flight filled with passengers – including middle seats and no social distancing – United Airlines quickly announced a new policy late Monday night.
The Chicago-based airline, taken to task after the tweet went viral, said customers will now have a choice if they feel their flight cannot maintain social distancing to help ward off the coronavirus.
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“Starting next week, customers on flights that are expected to be closer to full capacity can rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit,” United said in a statement. “We’ll do our best to reach out about 24 hours before departure and we’ll also provide options at the gate.”
The policy adjustments came after Dr. Ethan Weiss, a San Francisco cardiologist, was returning home after spending several weeks in New York City working to combat the virus.
Weiss was taken aback by the full flight, including the use of middle seats, at a time when the country is supposed to be practicing social distancing.
He tweeted:
I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737 pic.twitter.com/rqWeoIUPqL
— Ethan Weiss (@ethanjweiss) May 9, 2020
Other passengers have also posted images of crowded flights and airports in recent days.
“I think airlines may need to start thinking of a more overt strategy, such as temperature checks for people getting on planes or brief screenings to see if they have purported symptoms,” DePaul University professor Joe Schwieterman told Chicago NBC 5. “A packed airplane really does run counter to what people think is appropriate right now.”
Left unsaid by United is, of course, the fact that full flights are likely to continue on all airlines. U.S. carriers have seen a dramatic drop in demand for air travel, to the point where they have parked their planes and consolidated routes, resulting in sold-out flights.
