I've highlighted in other posts (and further down in the post you quote) the mental health exclusion (e.g., hyper-sensitivity to touch common in some types of autism, sudden panic attacks, etc). I wouldn't qualify someone complaining about trouble breathing without other physical indicators (e.g., dramatically increased breathing rate, drop in O2 sat, increasing blood acidity) as an exclusion which is what I meant by my psychosomatic comment.

You see this is where the issue is with no Federal mandate/guidelines. In the UK and Switzerland, there is a specific government guideline for mask wearing in the air and stating the exemptions, including "causing severe distress". This is why BA's policy is actually very relaxed against wearing masks should you have a legitimate reason covered by the guidelines not to. This would also clear the airlines from being sued if someone is not wearing a mask and another passenger complains.

I am copying here what the Swiss Federal Government says about wearing masks on transport (this includes airplanes). I stand by my belief that if the US Federal Govt mandates something similar, than the airlines would have to fall in line and follow that advice.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...41961486f1.png

Fair​, Narcissistic Personality Disorder is one

A private airline should have every right to set its own rules so long as those rules are not otherwise discriminatory or illegal. This is a good thing.

If I have to fly over the next 3-6 months, I'll be flying Delta with a blocked middle seat and with masks enforced. I won't fly American or others if they continue to take a more relaxed approach to common-sense measures.

Statistically I won't die or be permanently impaired by this as a healthy middle-aged adult, but my parents - including one with a relatively advanced pre-existing respiratory condition - do not have such favorable odds. I would do anything to prevent the guilt of potentially exposing my parents or other elderly friends/family - and killing them. I can only imagine the pain and guilt for those who carelessly risk others when they realize the harm they have done.. but only when it is too late.

Ordinarily I would agree, however when it comes to quasi-private companies which the government deems too big to fail, I tend to go a different direction on that.

This week the head of the AFA stated that she wants to make masks permanent on airplanes from now until the end of time. And most of you seem to want that.

I did a quick search and could not find a reference to this. I did find plenty of material of Sara Nelson requesting a federal mask mandate for air travel but I assume there is something specific that she said that makes you think she is advocating for a "permanent" rule?

I'm very skeptical she ever said anything of the sort that implied that such a change would be permanent.

I think everyone here is looking forward to a return to normalcy once a vaccine is made available. Why would you think anyone would want a mask requirement to be permanent?

I tried Googling “head of AFA wants to make masks permanent on airplanes” and got no hits. Do you have a cite for this claim?

ETA: looks like we made the same point with you beating me to the punch by a few seconds. :)

She made no mention of it ever expiring. When have we ever given up something to the government and gotten it back? You won't. Even airline policy is never temporary. Remember those temporary fuel surcharges? Yeah...

So, even if you are right about the second part, she did not state the thing you said she stated?

She didn't say it because it was of course implied because it's common sense. You.. you do realize that no one likes to wear masks right (they're uncomfortable and make certain activities hader)? And that there is a specific reason why masks are presently being mandated? And that there will be a clear end to this after a vaccine is made available.. right? We've had pandemics in the past. Including municipalities mandating face coverings. And.. unsurprisingly they were eventually rolled back at the end of the pandemic.

I generally agree with the ratchet comment as it relates to governments taking away rights. But governments - including the United States - have always had the authority to issue mask mandates in public health emergencies. If anything, if you want to take a paranoid view of the world, our government wants this over with as soon as possible because wearing masks has a detrimental impact to the facial recognition spynet that is growing every day.

Your paranoia on a "permanent masked future" is very strange.

If someone is so sensitive to the touch that the person cannot wear any cloth or paper face mask or other face covering, I would be concerned that the person would also refuse to wear a seat belt on board. This is a clear safety hazard that could cause the flight to return to the gate before takeoff or to divert in flight, both of which are expensive for DL and inconvenient for DL's other customers.

Sara Nelson isn’t exactly a rational voice on much. Her specialty is getting FAs to do less work for more money. Outside of shaking down AA’s inept management, she’s not widely regarded as much in the aviation world.

I disagree that some people don't like wearing the masks. They wouldn't be color coordinating them and ordering custom ones if they didn't. It's a big money maker right now. You're kidding yourself if you don't think these companies want to ride the wave as long as possible.

And look at China. They have been wearing masks for decades. Is that what you want our society to look like?

yes I want America to have limited the spread of the virus and returning to normalcy rather than babies complaining about masks perpetuating the status quo.

​​​​​​(If you're so xenophobic that you think "China" has been "wearing masks for decades" and see that as a strawman threat (people in Japan wear masks on public transit in flu season too), maybe travel isn't for you)


Note also that plenty of people don't "like" wearing masks, but are doing so because it is the moral thing to do. Condoms are a multi-million dollar industry even though men don't "like" wearing them.