Some air travelers who were banned after breaking mask rules earlier in the pandemic may get a second chance to fly the friendly skies.
"On a case-by-case basis we will allow some customers who were previously banned for failing to comply with mask-related rules to fly United again – after ensuring their commitment to follow all crewmember instructions on board," United Airlines said in a statement.
Roughly 1,000 United customers have been banned for breaking mask rules. Asked about the criteria for who gets to return and what repercussions may be in store for passengers who disobey flight crew again, United told USA TODAY, "We don’t have anything additional to share on this, as we do not share specifics of our internal security policies and procedures."
WHERE ARE MASKS STILL REQUIRED?: What travelers need to know
DO AIR FILTERS DO ENOUGH?: What experts say about airplane filtration systems
Adam Jenne of Southwest Florida says he got banned after wearing a red thong as a face mask last December. He says he has worn women's underwear for masks on flights throughout the pandemic both to illustrate the absurdity of mask rules and because "no matter who you are or what side of the political spectrum you are on, it's funny!"
"Every time I wore it, it was met with laughter," he said, but not this time.
"The flight attendants basically told me to change my mask, and I politely refused and asked questions as to why my mask didn't meet the requirements," he said, noting the thong covered his nose and mouth. "I was peaceful about it. I'm not going to get into an alteration."
According to the federal mandate in place at the time, masks should also "fit snugly against the sides without gaps."
After getting escorted off the plane, he said, "I got an email later that day saying I was banned from future flight(s) on the airline ... until the mask mandate was over" and that he could appeal the decision if desired.
He hasn't heard from United, outside of fighting over a refund for another leg of his trip, but says he's not in a rush to fly the airline again.
"There's a lot of other planes going to the same destinations," he said.
IN-FLIGHT RUCKUS: Feds say unruly Delta passenger refused to wear mask, mooned flight attendant
BITING, HITTING, SPITTING: FAA proposes its 'largest-ever' fines against unruly passengers
Alaska Airlines will also give some its grounded guests the green light. The airline banned more than 1,700 guests over mask violations across the pandemic.
"Now that the mask policy has been overturned, guests who were banned solely for mask noncompliance will be allowed to purchase tickets on our flights," Alaska said in a statement via media relations manager Cailee Olson. "However, some guests whose behavior was particularly egregious will remain banned.”
Delta Air Lines said approximately 2,000 customers are on its mask no-fly list.
"With masks now optional, Delta will restore flight privileges for customers on the mask non-compliance no-fly list only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us," said airline spokesperson Morgan Durrant. "Any further disregard for the policies that keep us all safe will result in placement on Delta's permanent no-fly list. Customers who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list remain barred from flying with Delta."
Nearly two-thirds of the 1,233 unruly passenger incidents recorded by the Federal Aviation Administration this year have been related to face masks. Many of those may have resolved without escalating physically but still have resulted in bans or fines under the FAA's zero-tolerance policy, which became permanent Wednesday.
The FAA and Transportation Security Administration are also working to strip fined passengers of TSA PreCheck privileges, but at present, there is no national no-fly list for unruly passengers shared across airlines.
"If people are out of hand and physical, I think you should always get banned from flying," Jenne said, noting that he was never fined as TSA agents later determined his "preferred mask" was in compliance.
But he thinks airlines "should probably extend an olive branch" to travelers who were banned over masks alone.
Southwest is sticking by its bans across the board, the airline said.
"Southwest's decisions to issue bans to unruly or disruptive passengers are unaffected by the court's recent decision," Southwest told USA TODAY.
USA TODAY reached out to every major U.S. airline as well as the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents Alaska and United flight attendants, to see where they stand on banned passengers and will update this story as details become available.