Good Lifestyle

The last two years has been tumultuous for many, but the COVID pandemic has been a significant struggle for the airline industry. As a result of the pandemic, carriers have been forced to change policies, ban certain services, and even cancel flights altogether. And of course, passengers have made their feelings about all of this known. Many travelers havecalled out various U.S. airlines for significant last-minute delays and cancellations that have left millions stranded in airports across the country. Others have complained about carriers looking to make an extra buck from customers already struggling amid the pandemic, like when Frontier was forced to get rid of a "COVID recovery charge" fee it had attempted to add to its ticket prices. And now, Delta Air Lines is on the receiving end of major backlash over something that doesn't have to do with flight cancellations or shady fees. Read on to find out what controversy is currently leading to boycott threats for the airline.

Kaugnay:Delta Is Cutting Flights to These 5 Cities, Starting Sept. 5.

On April 18, federal officials stopped enforcing the transportation mask mandate after a U.S. District judge in Florida overruled the requirement, The Washington Post reported. The requirement was at one point meant to expire on that date anyway, but the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had recently extended the mandate until at least May 3 at the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Once the federal mandate was struck down in court, U.S. airlines decided to drop their own mask requirements immediately. American Airlines, Southwest, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier are among the major carriers who are now no longer requiring passengers to wear face coverings while on board, according to Ang New York Times..

While all the airlines have faced some criticism over the decision to lift mask requirements, Delta has been on the receiving end of more backlash than others. That's because of a statement the carrier released when the federal mask mandate was struck down. "We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus," Delta said in its original announcement on April 18, per NPR.

After the statement was released, several health experts and passengers took to social media call out Delta, claiming the airline was spreading inaccurate information about the coronavirus. "I don't care what you think about masking, but Delta's comment that #SARSCOV2 has transitioned to become an 'ordinary seasonal virus' is just bonkers, has no basis in science and is outright misinformation misleading their customers (of which I am one!)," Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, an epidemiologist and associate professor at Yale, tweeted April 19.

Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS, an epidemiologist and senior advisor at The Pandemic Prevention Institute, also noted that "'ordinary' viruses don't cause 1 million deaths in one country in just two years." According to data from the CDC, there have been a total of 986,545 COVID deaths in the U.S. so far, as of April 20.AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB.

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The backlash hasn't just stopped at tweets—the airline could also face financial consequences for its comment. A number of travelers have said that they will no longer book flights with Delta Air Lines after it referred to COVID as an "ordinary seasonal virus."

"I know sometimes people say something like "I'm never flying Delta ever again'—but I am actually never flying Delta ever again," Matthew Cortland, a lawyer and healthcare rights advocate from Massachusetts, tweeted April 18 in regards to the carrier's comment. That tweet has already been retweeted nearly 300 times and liked by more than 1,000 users.

Jorge A. Caballero, an anesthesiologist and clinical instructor with Stanford Medicine, also tweeted on April 19 that he would "boycott" Delta's flights. Caballero said that the airline has shown a "total disregard for the health and safety" of its crew with it statement, which likely means it does not care about its passengers either.

Matapos matanggap ang isang barrage ng kritika, muling isinulat ng Delta Air Lines ang pahayag nito noong Abril 19-na kapansin-pansin ang linya ng "ordinaryong seasonal virus", iniulat ng NPR. Sinabi ng isang tagapagsalita para sa Delta Air Lines sa outlet ng balita na ginawa ng carrier ang pagbabago "para sa kaliwanagan at katumpakan" ngunit tinanggihan na magkomento nang higit pa tungkol sa backlash na natanggap nito para sa orihinal na pahayag nito.

"Kami ay hinalinhan upang makita ang U.S. mask mandate elevator samapadali ang pandaigdigang paglalakbay Bilang mga transition ng Covid-19 sa isang mas madaling pamahalaan na respiratory virus-na may mas mahusay na paggamot, mga bakuna at iba pang mga panukalang pang-agham upang maiwasan ang malubhang sakit, "ang pahayag ng Delta ngayon ay bumabasa.

Ngunit sa kabila ng pagbabago ng mga salita sa anunsyo ng maskara nito, hindi ito ang unang pagkakataon na ginamit ng carrier ang katulad na wika, ayon sa NPR. Kapag Delta CEO.Ed bastain Inanunsyo na noong Abril 13 na ang carrier ay magtatapos nito sa $ 200 buwanang surcharge sa mga hindi pinamamahalaan na empleyado, gumawa siya ng halos magkaparehong komento. "Bumaba kami sa buwan na ito ang karagdagang surcharge ng seguropagkatapos mailahad ang mga datus Na talagang naniniwala kami na ang pandemic ay lumipat sa isang pana-panahong virus, "sabi ni Bastian, bawat CNBC.

Kaugnay:Ginawa lamang ni Delta ang permanenteng pagbabago para sa lahat ng pasahero, simula ngayon.