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Southwest Airlines Community

Re: Forced off the plane

swa-suck-it
Explorer A

For covid transmission, it’s much more risky to fill every seat and not leave space between any passengers than it is to have one 2-year old taking off face mask.  They don’t seem to care about real risks if it means less money for them.  A 2-year old can barely generate respiratory droplets into the air.  Why aren’t they respecting social distancing on their flights?

Re: Forced off the plane

bbland
Adventurer C

This has been a requirement for quite some time, they now have Federal Law to back it.  The 1st time we flew during the pandemic was in May of 2020 and we were all required to wear masks.  The 2 and up policy has been the same since they started requiring masks.    If you search through these threads, you'll see multiple discussions about the mask policy that have been going on for quite some time.

Re: Forced off the plane

PetertheProphet
Adventurer B

That's not true. There may be an executive order "demanding" that all passengers wear masks, but executive orders are NOT the same thing as laws. Only legislative bodies like Congress can pass laws. 

 

But even IF there was such a "law," it would violate the Air Carrier Access Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The actual law prohibits airlines from discriminating on the basis of either medical condition or religious beliefs. And people with both medical AND religious exemptions exist.

Re: Forced off the plane

swa-suck-it
Explorer A

So people need to read blogs, or they won’t be notified until check-in?  And then they have to try to force a 2-year old who can’t even generate respiratory droplets into the air to wear a mask.  And in the meantime they completely ignore social distancing?  It’s absurd.  They let the real risks go so they can make more money.  

Re: Forced off the plane

swa-suck-it
Explorer A

No, you’re wrong.  It became “required” on Feb 2, 2021.  And there are no guidelines for enforcement.

Re: Forced off the plane

swa-suck-it
Explorer A

WRONG!!  Feb 2, 2021

Forced off the plane

SWFlyer007
Aviator C

The only thing I can respond to this is, laws change every year/day with legislation or what have you.  Do you think because you may have bought a car way back when that somebody took out the seatbelts, that when the law changed you were exempt because the seatbelts were already taken out before the law?  I feel for you, and agree with you, but I also know SWA is only abiding by the law.  

Re: Forced off the plane

swa-suck-it
Explorer A

Hey 007 - you do realize that cars were being built for decades without seatbelts.  Mandates for putting them into cars didn’t occur until mid 80’s, and it was years before they could mandate wearing a lap belt, more years for a shoulder belt.  It was also determined by state which is impossible to for a flight.  I think masks are great.  But what were the data used to determine that at the age of 2, no mask presented a risk all of the sudden?  Also there are other options that are given - like designating an area of the plane as risky if someone is unable to wear a mask.  And BTW, anyone who wears a mask with a beard is at least as dangerous as a two-year old with no mask.  

Bottom line, there are ways to work through this situation productively and kicking a family off of a flight isn’t one of them.  The majority of people working for SW are robots who automatically respond that there’s nothing that they can do to help with any problem.  Or they go all tough-guy and test people poorly because they don’t know how to solve any problems.  

Re: Forced off the plane

swa-suck-it
Explorer A

Treat people poorly.

Re: Forced off the plane

NicoleAshley
Employee
Employee

@Frequentflyer89 We're sincerely sorry this experience has you questioning our commitment to valued Customers like you and your family. I deeply regret if we missed an opportunity to provide you with a higher level of Customer Service given the circumstances. As a peer-to-peer support forum, we are not equipped to assist you here, but I encourage you to Contact Customer Relations if you would like to have your experience documented.

Nicole
Community Manager