#Delta to maskless passengers: Undergo screening or ‘reconsider travel’

Delta Air Lines now requires all its passengers to wear face coverings “throughout their travel” – warning that those who refuse to do so will be required to undergo a health screening before boarding.

Customers and employees alike must wear a face mask, “or appropriate face covering over their nose and mouth,” during check-in, the boarding gate areas and aboard the planes for the duration of the flight – except during meal service, the carrier said on its website.

Those “with health conditions or disabilities that explicitly prevent the wearing of a face covering or mask are strongly encouraged to reconsider travel or should be prepared to complete a ‘Clearance-to-Fly’ process prior to departure at the airport,” the carrier added.

“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,” it said.

Non-complying passengers will be required to undergo a virtual consultation by phone using STAT-MD, which “provides inflight emergency consultation as well as fitness-to-fly ground screening.”

Using the results of the screening, Delta will determine whether the passenger can fly without a mask.

In June, the company said passengers who do not comply with the mask or other safety requirements “risk future flight privileges with Delta,” according to CNN.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told employees in a memo that the company had already “banned some passengers from future travel on Delta for refusing to wear masks on board.”

Other US airlines also have recently clamped down on the use of masks on flights during the coronavirus pandemic.

United Airlines announced last month that people who refuse to wear a mask risk being put on a restricted travel list.

And American Airlines has asked all passengers — with the exception of kids and people with medical reasons that prevent them from wearing masks — to use face coverings.