• Face masks during flights are essential wear but they are also uncomfortable for constant wear.
• They can be removed on board but only for eating and drinking and not otherwise.
• But passengers are finding some innovative and creative ways to remove the face masks on board nowadays.
• American Airlines pilot Dennis Tajer revealed it on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

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Face Masks and air flights

Airlines have made it mandatory to wear face masks in the airport and onboard. The crew keeps a check that the guidelines and instructions are followed by all passengers.

Face masks can only be removed during eating and drinking. But there are some passengers that feel the constant wear of face masks uncomfortable. Therefore, they feel the urge to remove them.

But since by order they cannot remove the masks, they are now resorting to some innovative ways to get them away from their mouth and nose area.

American Airlines pilot Dennis Tajer has traveled extensively during this pandemic both in the cockpit and as a union official. He noticed that people were not adhering to the strict instructions and could thus pose a threat to their fellow passengers.

American Airlines pilot Dennis Tajer and his observation

The pilot of American Airlines, Dennis Tajer has noticed some unsettling facts about face mask-wearing on board. He revealed:

“We’re starting to see people take creative ways on the aircraft of temporary relief from wearing the masks,”

The pilot continued:

“You see it drop down over the nose. Or you might see it used as more of a chin guard,”

So the mask is just hanging on them but not used the proper way that it should be done. Dennis is also a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.

He feels that the acts are not with malicious intent but just normal and natural human reactions. He added that some passengers are lax with face mask-wearing.

And since there is no federal mask mandate on planes, the crew cannot force compliance. They can only request or warn them to follow it.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration-inadequate report

Also, read Donald Trump states that he will not force his citizens to wear face masks in public!

Airline union officials, consumer advocates, and others have repeatedly urged the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to bring out a mandate on face mask-wearing rules for planes.

But the request has fallen on deaf ears. Two weeks back, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao put out a lineup of public health measures that airlines and airports should implement to reduce the risks of COVID-19 in their territory.

They just made one statement on face masks that it is compulsory in the air transportation environment.

Though strongly worded, the report was not forceful and fell short. He feels that it had mere recommendations and nothing more than that. The passenger advocacy group, FlyersRights also dubbed the report as ‘too little and too late’.

Dennis states:

“Grab a middle seat. Grab a seat when the airplane is full. You’ll start to see behavior that you’re not going to be pleased with.”