Woman Shocked By The Number Of Unmasked Passengers On A Miami To NYC Flight

In a report by The Post, American Airlines Flight 2669 was almost packed full Wednesday when 42-year-old Angie Wong of Manhattan, New York, boarded the plane. Ms. Wong was wearing a face shield, surgical mask, gloves, and hoodie when she got inside the plane for her 10:19 a.m. flight to New York. She told The Post that she was surprised to find that despite the coronavirus crisis, half of the passengers on board were not wearing masks.

Lack Of Social Distancing

According to Ms. Wong, she could tell that other passengers were very nervous too in seeing many of their fellow passengers had no masks on. Ms. Wong has been living with her husband and two kids in Miami since New York City Mayor de Blasio announced that city schools would have to be shut down.

The stay-at-home mom from Soho said that social distancing policies are being sternly enforced at the airport in Miami. The passengers on her flight, however, were crammed together with half of them without face masks on. She did notice; however, a couple of people wearing full hazmat suits during the flight.

A Cramped Cabin

Ms. Wong shared several photos she took of the cramped airplane cabin. It showed some passengers with their masks and gloves on while others did not bother to put on any protective gear. She asked the airplane staff how such things can be allowed amid social distancing requirements. Ms. Wong said, however, that all she got was a “nothing we can do about it” answer accompanied by a shrug. She was then offered an 800 number she can call to change her reservation, Ms. Wong told The Post.

The pilot, according to Ms. Wong, came on the PA system mid-flight and apologized for the plane’s cramped setting. While she asked to be transferred to an emptier section of the plane, she did not realize how packed her flight was until she boarded. She was told that the airline could not accommodate her request to be transferred to another seat.

A Business

Upon arriving in New York, she asked to speak to an airline rep about the situation on the plane that she flew in. According to Ms. Wong, the airline rep answered: “if American Airlines sells 150 seats, they will board 150 seats — it’s a business.”

Ms. Wong told The Post that everyone should learn to accept and adopt the new norms, and businesses are not exempted in the interest of public safety. She also said that airlines should consider policies that match current federal policies on social distancing and wearing of masks.

American Airlines issued a statement to The Post on the matter. It said, “to encourage social distancing, gate agents will reassign seats to create more space between customers. Once onboard — provided there aren’t any aircraft weight or balance restrictions — customers can move to another seat within their ticketed cabin subject to availability.” The airline also revealed that at present, it has blocked “50 percent of standard middle seats” on all flights. In an email, an airline rep also told The Post that the American Airlines team is monitoring all their flights closely to ensure social distancing is observed. The rep also said they encourage the airline’s customers to observe CDC guidelines.