Southwest the 8th major carrier to require passenger to wear masks on flights

The airline industry will be one of the keys to an economic rebound in this country — and in Central Florida — where the public’s confidence in flying will restart a willingness to travel, and once again become tourists.

By Monday, American, Southwest and Spirit airlines will join Frontier (adding the mandate Friday, and you have to bring your own), Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and United airlines in requiring passengers wear masks or face coverings on flights. Flight attendants were already required to them by company rules. Delta’s requiring them also in the Sky Clubs, boarding areas and the jetway — so basically bring yours, but it on at the gate and leave it through the flight if you fly with them right now.

Southwest will also offer sanitizing wipes, and CEO Gary Kelly said they’re using hospital quality disinfectants to clean and specialized equipment to make sure the air is properly filtered. He also says that the company will not book flights to capacity, and with all that in place, it’s safe to fly with them during the coronavirus pandemic, he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” last weekend that the risk of contracting the virus on an airplane is “no greater than anywhere else.”