Airlines fail to enforce mask directive

As airlines try to convince Americans to fly again, they have touted their policies for keeping passengers safe, including the requirement that everyone onboard a plane wear a mask.

But travellers on recent flights said the rules are not being enforced. And flight attendants said they have been told not to confront passengers who opt to not follow them.

Drusilla Lawton flew from South Carolina to Wyoming in May on two American Airlines flights and said the mask rule wasn’t being enforced during boarding or on the plane. “I was just horrified watching the gate agent let people through without their masks,” said Lawton, a part-time portfolio manager. “When I was walking down the aisle I was wondering, ‘How many people aren’t wearing a mask?’ There were so many.”