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Are masks with an exhaust vent allowed on AA? [Yes]

Are masks with an exhaust vent allowed on AA? [Yes]

Old Jul 17, 2022, 4:10 pm
  #1  
dtc
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Are masks with an exhaust vent allowed on AA? [Yes]

It looks like an AA FA stopped someone from wearing a professional 3M mask onboard. AA then confirmed that was policy "Only medical respirators can be worn and used while inflight."


It doesn't make sense that you can't wear a mask with an exhaust vent when you don't need to wear a mask at all. Is there a formal definition of medical respirators somewhere?
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 4:12 pm
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Odd. Shouldn’t they have allowed it as long as he wore a surgical mask over it?
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 4:35 pm
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Originally Posted by TravelerMSY
Odd. Shouldn’t they have allowed it as long as he wore a surgical mask over it?
Masks aren't required anymore, so the vent requiring another mask shouldn't be an issue.

This doesn't make much sense. My bet is that they're both incorrect and conflating rules.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 6:40 pm
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So when masks were required, masks with vents were not permitted.

Guessing that the people involved here are remembering that part of the policy; and not thinking it through. Or possibly that somehow that part of the policy is still appearing in some document somewhere and people are being too literal.

Regardless, yeah, doesn't make sense now that masks aren't required.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 6:52 pm
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Originally Posted by TravelerMSY
Odd. Shouldn’t they have allowed it as long as he wore a surgical mask over it?
The CDC actually has a study up on their site where it was found that vented N95s/P100s are fine, but never updated the official guidance, presumably to try to spare people from arguments over whether cloth masks with vent holes sown in were okay.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 7:53 pm
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Maybe the thinking is that in the event of an emergency where oxygen masks deployed, the passenger would not be able to remove this ridiculous thing quickly?
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:14 pm
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We still have to wear masks?
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:17 pm
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Originally Posted by BA2158
We still have to wear masks?
Does AA fly to any countries that require ti for flights to/from that country?
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:24 pm
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Originally Posted by Dave Noble
Does AA fly to any countries that require ti for flights to/from that country?
Fair, for few destinations. But the post should be more about the destination requirements rather than AA.

AA doesn't have any requirement.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:26 pm
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Originally Posted by SFOtoTYO
Maybe the thinking is that in the event of an emergency where oxygen masks deployed, the passenger would not be able to remove this ridiculous thing quickly?
I'm thinking it's this. Typical masks would be easy to be pulled down and oxygen masks put on. That get-up would require more than a quick yank to pull it down.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:27 pm
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Originally Posted by BA2158
Fair, for few destinations. But the post should be more about the destination requirements rather than AA.

AA doesn't have any requirement.
If the country has a requirement for masks to be work on flights to and/or from the country, then AA would have to comply with that

If that is the case, then the rule on what masks are acceptable would make sense
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:29 pm
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Originally Posted by stormlover
I'm thinking it's this. Typical masks would be easy to be pulled down and oxygen masks put on. That get-up would require more than a quick yank to pull it down.
It takes exactly the same amount of time to take off. And if time to wear oxygen mask was a consideration, they wouldn't allow children on board - the time to mask yourself and then a child surpasses removing any individual mask by a factor of 10.

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Old Jul 17, 2022, 8:36 pm
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Originally Posted by stormlover
I'm thinking it's this. Typical masks would be easy to be pulled down and oxygen masks put on. That get-up would require more than a quick yank to pull it down.
They didn't say he couldn't wear this mask, they said that respirators (/masks with vents) are not allowed. There are many that fit over your face in the same way a cloth or surgical mask would. In fact, I flew with one of the latter on an AA flight last year, I simply wore a cloth mask over it while on board.

This policy makes absolutely no sense and I would push back on this again. Fortunately, it looks like a lot of people on Twitter are already calling them out hard. I hope we hear an update.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 10:28 pm
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Originally Posted by Dave Noble
Does AA fly to any countries that require ti for flights to/from that country?
Flights to and from Germany still require masks.
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Old Jul 17, 2022, 10:51 pm
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Originally Posted by stormlover
I'm thinking it's this. Typical masks would be easy to be pulled down and oxygen masks put on. That get-up would require more than a quick yank to pull it down.
Yes, but the stated issue was the exaust vent, not ease of removal.
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