Woman Wearing Face Mask on Flight for Kindest Reason: 'Don't Judge'

A video of a passenger warning others not to "make assumptions" about why she's wearing a face mask on her flight has gone viral on TikTok. The clip was shared by @liketotallykelly and has amassed over 219,000 views since it was posted on July 9. The footage shows a woman seated on a plane wearing a face mask while holding a drink in her hand and looking into the camera. A note overlaid on the video reads: "I'm wearing a mask because I'm allergic to dogs and there's 3 of them on my flight near me. I would rather wear this than see pets go in cargo. Please don't make assumptions when you see someone wearing a mask on a plane." According to a caption shared with the post, the passenger was offered a seat change but declined the offer because she "paid extra to be up front." The passenger noted in the caption: "I'm not upset over it. I'm posting to show ppl [people] things happen & I didn't make a fuss over it. My choices were: be a sneezy coughing itchy watery eye mess, move to the back, or wear a mask. "I chose the mask. All I ask is don't judge someone who is wearing one because you don't know their reason." According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), individual airlines are allowed to decide whether their passengers can bring pets on board. Passengers are advised to contact their carrier before traveling to confirm the airline's policy on pets. If your airline does not allow pets on board, your pet will need to travel in the cargo hold. While the poster in the viral clip may have been concerned about pets traveling in the cargo, the International Air Transport Association states "despite all the fears about airline pet cargo travel, millions of animals are carried safely every year." "Do not worry, cats and dogs actually travel better this way because it is quieter and they will rest in a darkened environment," the IATA states. The poster's warning asking travelers not to judge a person wearing a mask on a plane is understandable because face masks sparked heated debate during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, face masks were required to be worn on planes, at airports and other forms of public transportation, as noted by the FAA. Following a court ruling in April 2022, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it would no longer be enforcing the mask requirement. In December 2020, the FAA proposed civil penalties of $15,000 and $7,500 against two passengers for "allegedly interfering with and assaulting flight attendants who instructed them to wear face coverings." In January 2021, the FAA adopted a stricter unruly passenger policy, noting that it had seen "a disturbing increase" in incidents where passengers have "disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior," some of which have stemmed from refusals to wear masks. In August 2021, the FAA said it had received 3,889 reports of unruly passengers, including 2,867 reports of those refusing to comply with the mask mandate. Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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