DOD, United Airlines say masked passengers 'extremely unlikely' to catch COVID-19
U.S. Department of Defense and United Airlines conduct study and find the risk of exposure to coronavirus on commercial airlines is 'virtually nonexistent'; Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas reports.
Delta Air Lines doesn’t want passengers to get too close for comfort this spooky season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The carrier vaguely shaded competitors on Thursday, tweeting out a message that seemingly targeted other airlines for ending policies that would block middle seats to create more social distancing.
"A haunted house, but they're not blocking middle seats,” Delta wrote in a tweet.
The gibe came following Southwest Airline’s recent announcement that it would once again start booking middle seats on flights as of Dec. 1, after previously capping passenger cabin capacity in May to enhance distance in the fight against COVID-19.
Southwest recently caught heat on social media for the policy change, with some critics describing the decision as “disheartening” and disappointing.
DELTA PASSENGER SLAPS FLIGHT ATTENDANT DURING ARGUMENT OVER MASK POLICY: REPORT
Southwest, however, joins major carriers American Airlines and United Airlines in rebooking middle seats. Meanwhile, Delta and Alaska Airlines will continue to block the in-between seats until Jan. 6, 2021, guaranteeing a little extra room for passengers flying during the once-booming holiday travel season.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday that his airline would continue the middle seat blocking policy until "well into next year," though he did not specify a date as to when that might change.
In this March photo, Delta Airlines flight 0958 prepares to depart with only a handful of passengers on board. (iStock)
Commercial air travel in the U.S. has slowly recovered in recent months, surpassing 1 million daily passengers on Sunday for the first time since March.
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For context, however, air travel in October is still down 65% from last year, the Associated Press reports. Business travelers, who fly frequently and pay higher fares, are still said to be mostly absent.
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Fox News’ Jeanette Settembre and the Associated Press contributed to this report.