“Any false claims of a disability or health condition to obtain an exemption from wearing a mask or face covering may result in the suspension of travel privileges on any Delta flight for the duration of the mask/face covering requirement.”
Stricter Requirements for Wearing Masks By Delta Air Lines
The paragraph you just read was an excerpt from the questions which are frequently asked pertaining to wearing masks or cloth coverings over the face for passengers of Delta Air Lines during the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic.
Delta Air Lines is one of the airlines which are based in the United States that require passengers to wear face masks or appropriate cloth coverings over the nose and mouth throughout their travels effective as of May of 2020, as was first reported in this article at The Gate on Saturday, May 2, 2020 — including at:
- Lobby when checking in for a flight
- Delta Sky Clubs
- Boarding gate areas
- Jet bridges
- On board the aircraft for the duration of the flight — except during meal service
Usage of face masks or appropriate cloth coverings over the nose and mouth is strongly encouraged in high-traffic areas — including security lines and in restrooms.
Customers with unique mask requirements should bring the appropriate face covering that best meets their needs — and although plastic face shields may be used in addition to a mask, they are not approved replacements for face masks.
If you have health conditions or disabilities which explicitly prevent the wearing of a face covering or mask, you are strongly encouraged to reconsider travel — or you should be prepared to take at least one hour to complete a ‘Clearance-to-Fly’ process prior to departure at the airport if you require this exemption; and you need to please arrive early to complete the process during checking in for your flight to avoid missing it.
Mask exemptions apply only to travel on flights which are operated by Delta Air Lines. Click here to learn about the face mask policies and requirements when traveling with partner airlines of Delta Air Lines.
In order to prevent discrimination by commercial airlines — based both within and outside of the United States — against passengers on the basis of physical or mental disability, the Air Carrier Access Act was passed by the Congress of the United States in 1986; and here are where complaints may be registered against an airline via the official Internet web site of the Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement division of the Department of Transportation of the United States.
Employees of airlines are limited by law to the questions they are permitted to ask passengers about the nature of their disabilities. Additional information is available at the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice of the United States pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act — which is more commonly known as the ADA.
Summary
The aforementioned enhanced policy — which is designed to reduce false claims by a passenger that he or she has a disability solely to avoid wearing a face mask or appropriate cloth covering over the nose and mouth while traveling — seems similar to when Delta Air Lines implemented stricter requirements for emotional support animals and service dogs effective as of Tuesday, March 1, 2018, as Delta Air Lines requires all passengers traveling with service dogs, psychiatric service animals, or emotional support animals to provide documentation of proof of health or vaccinations 48 hours in advance of the departure of a flight.
Expect other airlines to eventually follow the lead of Delta Air Lines and implement similar policies.
All photographs ©2015, ©2016, ©2018, and ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
