Russian airline Aeroflot has announced it will designate specific seats on board its planes for passengers who refuse to wear masks.
“It is critically important for us to ensure the safety of all passengers,” Yulia Spivakova, a spokeswoman for the airline, said in a statement.
Aeroflot, which is Russia’s largest airline and national flag carrier, has a policy that travelers must wear masks while boarding and while on the plane, unless they are eating, drinking or changing masks.
However, it seems that some passengers are not obeying these guidelines. And because a plane can’t just stop in midair and kick out an offending passenger, Aeroflot has designated certain seats on each flight for travelers who cannot or will not follow the mask policy.
“[This] does not exclude the application of other measures of liability for violation of the rules for the use of personal protective equipment on board,” Spivakova added.
Video: Bill Gates: Next 4 to 6 months could be worst of the pandemic (CNN)
Ex-police officer arrested for violent attempt to find voter fraud
CNN
Veteran Palestinian leader calls for major reform in the PLO
CNN
CNN Heroes: Finn Wolfhard introduces Young Wonder TJ Kim
CNN
South Korean FM: 'Complacency' led to Covid rise
CNN
Avlon: 'Trump derangement syndrome' has taken on a new twist
CNN
How a news anchor helped over 4,000 Americans this year
CNN
CNN Heroes: Leslie Odom, Jr. shares a message from Mother Nature
CNN
Inside a Covid-19 maternity ward
CNN
SE Cupp: Partisanship is profitable
CNN
CNN Heroes: Glenn Close honors mental health heroes
CNN
Leslie Odom, Jr. shares a message from Mother Nature
CNN
CNN Heroes: Jeffrey Wright honors heroes upholding democracy
CNN
Kamala Harris: I applaud Mitch McConnell
CNN
Theater that remained open during WWII forced to shut
CNN
This 'futurist-in-chief' says gaming could be bigger than the physical economy
CNN
Public health official on why he resigned: This was the last straw
CNN
Ex-police officer arrested for violent attempt to find voter fraud
A former police captain who was part of a private citizens group investigating unsubstantiated 2020 election fraud claims was arrested after allegedly running a man off the road and pointing a gun to his head, the Harris County district attorney said. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
CNN
Veteran Palestinian leader calls for major reform in the PLO
Hanan Ashrawi tells Christiane why she stepped down from the PLO Executive Committee but is still hopeful for peace in the Middle East.
CNN
CNN Heroes: Finn Wolfhard introduces Young Wonder TJ Kim
Finn Wolfhard introduces 16-year-old Young Wonder and student pilot TJ Kim who is delivering needed supplies to remote rural hospitals. Get involved: CNNHeroes.com.
CNN
Mask wearing policies on planes vary throughout the world and individual carriers often make their own rules. Much of the burden on enforcing these policies is passed onto flight attendants.
Russia is not the only country where mask regulations on board airplanes has become an issue.
In the United States, several high-profile incidents have occurred on flights where passengers refused to wear masks. In July 2020, a Southwest Airlines flight returned to the gate at Denver International Airport when a scuffle took place between several passengers, one of whom claimed it was their “Constitutional right” not to wear one.
As of August of this year, Delta Air Lines announced that it had instituted nearly 250 lifetime bans on travelers who had refused to mask up.
The following month, two passengers on board two different domestic flights in Japan were removed from planes before takeoff, both for failure to wear masks.
Aeroflot has not announced whether it will implement long-term bans or other punishments for passengers who refuse to keep their masks on throughout the flight. But isolating them to a specific section of the plane may somewhat reduce the likelihood that an un-masked traveler could pass the coronavirus on to one of their seatmates.
Source: Read Full Article