While some US airlines have seen their no-fly lists grow by several hundred people over the last month, Canada’s WestJet has added just 37 people. Each individual has only been banned for one year.
Enforcing mask policies is notoriously difficult because of the lack of legal support. However, most airlines have gotten around these difficulties by warning passengers that failure to wear a mask could be removed from the flight. Some travelers would start the flight wearing the mask and then remove it once in the air. Then airlines began to threaten maskless passengers with bans.
The threat has, for the most part, been effective and regularly enforced. Some US airlines have added hundreds of people. However, Canada’s WestJet has added just 37 people to its no-fly list. In a statement, the airline said that most of these bans had been issued during the first weeks after the introduction of the mask policy in September.
In an interview, WestJet CEO Ed Sims said, “It was more pronounced in the early stages in September, and it’s become less of an issue over the past couple months. . . I don’t have a view on people’s individual rights to express frustration with masks. What I do have a view on is when it impacts the regulatory obligations and the safety of my business.”
Implementing policy
Unlike the US, Canada actually introduced a federal bill mandating that all passengers wear a mask or face covering during flights and at the airport. However, with so few flights actually operating, it didn’t seem to have much of an impact.
When flights started increasing, Calgary’s WestJet got behind the policy and started enforcing it on all flights. According to the federal ruling, passengers who are not compliant may be refused boarding, removed from a flight, or be banned from the airline for up to one year. However, passengers do get plenty of warning before receiving a ban.
Passengers will be asked to put on or find a face covering by a member of WestJet’s staff or cabin crew. Passengers will then be warned that masks are required, and failure to comply could result in penalties or consequences. Finally, passengers are told to comply with the policy or risk receiving a 12-month ban.
Anti-mask movement
Anti-mask rallies have grown in popularity across Canada in recent months, although not to the same level as in the US. CEO Ed Sims commented to the Calgary Herald in an interview that “what people do in other spheres and sectors of their lives is down to individual decisions.” However, he held firmly by the airline’s policy regarding protecting staff and other passengers, saying WestJet would not allow “the conviction of one to potentially compromise the safety of 100.”
As masks have become a permanent fixture on flights over the last couple of months, bans seem to be less frequent. Passengers now seem to be aware that not complying with the rules could have serious consequences.
What do you think about flying with a mask? Will it be a permanent feature of flights in 2021? Is a one-year ban long enough? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
