Delta Air Lines Bans Over 100 Passengers For Not Wearing Face Masks

Delta Air Lines (DAL) has banned over 100 travelers from flying with the airline after they refused to follow its face mask policy, CEO Ed Bastian told CNN.

“We've had well over 100 people that have refused to keep their mask on during the flight,” Bastian said.

Delta expanded its face mask policy in July to require them at all the airports it serves. The company said at the time that those passengers who refused to comply with the rule would be banned from future travel with the airline as long as the face mask requirement was in place.

The airline requires face mask in the airport, at check-in, during boarding, in-flight, deplaning, and at the baggage claim.

Delta's face mask policy requires travelers that have a medical exemption that would prevent them from wearing a face mask to undergo a medical screening prior to flying with the airline.

United and Southwest have also issued similar face mask policies and have also said they would bar travelers from flying if they violated the policy.

Delta employees are also required to wear a face mask – a policy that is being enforced by the airline as no federal mandate is in place requiring the face coverings.

“You can't get on the plane without wearing your mask,” Bastian told CNN. “But we do have some customers that don't want to keep their mask on during flight. We remind them several times over the course of getting ready to take off to please keep that mask on. But if they insist upon not wearing it — we insist that they're not going to travel on Delta today.”

The U.S. has reported over 5 million positive coronavirus cases, with nearly 163,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Shares of Deta were trading at $27.49 as of 9:30 a.m. ET, up 31 cents or 1.14%.