US

Two Airline CEOs Challenge Mask Mandates On Planes

Screenshot / YouTube / Yahoo Finance

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Laurel Duggan Social Issues and Culture Reporter
Font Size:

Mask mandates do little, if anything, to make the air safer inside airplanes, two major airline CEOs argued before Congress Wednesday.

“I think the case is very strong that masks don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment,” Gary Kelly, chief executive of Southwest Airlines, told lawmakers. Being inside a plane “is very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting,” Kelly said. The air filters on planes turn over clean air every three minutes, eliminating nearly all airborne pathogens, he explained.

Doug Parker, chief executive of American Airlines, said that “the aircraft is the safest place you can be.” He argued that the mask mandates create extra work for airline employees and tension between staff and passengers, citing emotional exchanges over COVID-19 protocols.

Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey pushed back against the executives’ claims, saying that the omicron variant, unvaccinated children under five and the fact that “we still allow unvaccinated on airplanes to fly in our country” justify the mask mandate remaining in place. It is unfair to require vaccinated people to sit next to unmasked, unvaccinated people on planes, according to Markey. (RELATED: ‘Shoot Me’: Woman Gets Arrested For Allegedly Attacking Flight Attendants, Fellow Passenger Zip-Ties Her Legs)

The Congressional hearing was intended as an opportunity to examine how federal funding during the pandemic impacted the commercial airline sector in light of widespread disruptions to air travel.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.