Garuda Indonesia Airline have chosen to let their flight attendants go maskless in a bid to see them smile.
The flight attendants won’t wear masks on flights following "many complaints" about the issue. According to Inside Hook, Garuda CEO Irfan Setiaputra said during a webinar last month that the customers complained about flight attendants wearing masks.
“Many Garuda customers have complained about the flight attendants wearing masks as [the passengers] cannot see whether or not the [flight attendants] are smiling or frowning.”
The new ruling comes months after the airline revealed that it was committed to always implementing health protocols in all aspects of flight operations, particularly in terms of the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crews.
The airline said that it was in accordance with standards set by regulators to ensure the comfort and safety of passengers and cabin crew on duty.
Setiaputra said at the time: “We continue to improve our services and facilities in all operational aspects, which one of them is the use of personal protective equipment for the cabin crew in accordance to the government’s regulations and safety standard, for instance, masks, hand gloves. We currently prepare face shields as additional protective equipment for cabin crew and the use of disposable apron during serving in-flight meals, as an effort to provide security and comfort for passengers during flights in line with the health protocol.
"Furthermore, we continually evaluate the use of personal protective equipment for the cabin crew that most appropriate and safe to use during flights, which refers to the applicable regulations and safety standard while still providing comfort and ease of interaction with passengers.”
The airline also revealed that the flight attendants would also wear face shields, an “additional personal protective equipment for cabin crew and does not replace the masks that currently used by our cabin crew.”