photo by Macau Photo Agency for Unsplash
Yesterday, JetBlue announced that it would require passengers to wear face masks throughout their journey including check-in, boarding, while in fight and deplaning:
Many travel blogs and websites reported on this. I didn’t think it was particularly newsworthy because I thought that wearing a face mask on a plane was practically a given. Now, other airlines will likely follow suit. Yes, there are ongoing debates concerning the efficacy of face masks, but personally, living in New York, this new inconvenience makes sense and puts me somewhat at ease. I might be more willing to fly on an airline that requires passengers to wear protective face coverings than one that doesn’t.
But, here’s a question. What if you want to eat food or drink beverages while on that flight when you are wearing a face mask?
For beverages, I predict the return of the popularity of straws. Or how about a new invention: a mask with a straw built into it? Using a straw would have it’s limitations – It would be rough for drinking hot beverages. And what about those olives in your martini and cherries in your manhattan? I don’t think they fit in straws.
photo: pixabay
For food, the task is even more perplexing. Take a look at this little girl trying to eat a biscuit with a face mask on.
I guess you could take off the mask temporarily while eating, but then you’d need to be careful to not contaminate it by your handling of it. Perhaps, at mealtime, everyone should wear a veil, a bandana or a silk scarf over their mouth under which they could eat a sandwich?
Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash
Or how about one of those mesh contraptions that are worn as bug repellents such as this one?
That might keep the mosquitoes away, but I doubt it would protect against germs floating around in a plane. But who knows what they’ll invent next.
This post is somewhat in gest, but honestly, there are a lot of questions about air travel in the time of the covid-19 pandemic (like . . . is the air okay?). What are your thoughts?
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Wearing a mask is mandatory on all flights in Canada.
Hopefully, beverage service will resume on domestic flights.
I don’t know how you can do a real food or beverage service with a face mask requirement. If the face mask is just for show because there is no virus around, then it doesn’t really matter. However, if the requirement is real because the virus is still prevalent, then the last thing you would want would be for your neighbor in a seat close by to eat or drink since one sneeze or cough without a mask and you could get sick. Also, if the virus is still prevalent, you would never want to constantly take off and put on your own mask to eat or drink since the odds are not insignificant that you would get virus on your hands or inside the mask every time you took it off and put it back on. In other words, in my opinion, until the spread of the virus has been diminished to nearly nothing, long-distance plane travel for leisure isn’t going to be fun and potentially will be dangerous.
In all seriousness, even before Covid, people were wearing masks and briefly taking these off for meals and beverages. This is perfectly acceptable and allowed.
I would fly with or without a mask, I don’t really think it matters. CDC now says to wear them is a good idea, but in March they said most people don’t need to. So they were either lying or really have no clue what to do. I think an argument could be made for either one of those. I just looked at the WHO website and they still say the only benefit to wear them is if caring for someone with COVID (of course WHO’s credibility is also in doubt).
Marlin, my thoughts exactly. Can you sue government experts for causing whiplash?