***Update: 06/19/20 @ 09:55 UTC - Garuda Indonesia has published a statement on its website suggesting masks may not be scrapped, but that face shields will be used in addition to the current PPE***

Garuda Indonesia has made a controversial decision this week, by announcing that flight attendants will forgo wearing face masks. The airline's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Irfan Setiaputra said that the carrier had received several complaints from unhappy passengers. The passengers took issue with the fact that they could not see the flight attendant's expressions while being served.

Flying should not resemble an ICU unit

In a virtual discussion on Tuesday, Garuda CEO Irfan Setiaputra announced the move, saying that many passengers had taken objection to cabin crew wearing face masks. He added that wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) minimized the human interaction between passengers and flight staff. He said,

"Many Garuda passengers complained that flight attendants are wearing masks because the passengers can't see if the attendants are smiling or pouting."

Irfan went on to say that flying should be a pleasurable experience, and he did not want passengers to feel like they were in an intensive care unit (ICU).

Flight attendants to transition to face shields

The current pandemic has changed the way we travel, with personal protective equipment becoming a requirement on most flights. The International Air Travel Association recommended face masks as the primary measure to curb the transmission of COVID-19 during travel. Garuda Indonesia's flight crew have worn face masks and gloves since domestic flights resumed on May 7th.

So if face masks are to be phased out, how will cabin crew protect themselves? Irfan said that the airline would gradually issue face shields instead of face masks so that the flight attendants were still protected, but human interaction could still occur. He added that everyone on board should feel comfortable but safe.

According to Garuda corporate secretary Mitra Piranti, flight attendants would still wear masks and gloves for the time being, and the timeframe for the new policy would be announced later. Mitra told the Jakarta Post on Wednesday,

"We continually evaluate the appropriateness and safety of the protective equipment for our flight crews in terms of prevailing flight safety regulations, while also looking to provide an excellent service."

Passengers require a health certificate to fly

The spread of COVID-19 globally has forced airlines to adopt numerous measures to keep passengers safe on board and tempt people back to flying. While the wearing of face masks has been at the forefront of the discussion, airlines have also had to alter services on board such as how food is served and whether pillows, blankets, and reading materials should be provided.

Garuda, Indonesia is no different. On June 4th, they introduced mono-use food packaging, which will be used until the end of the year. The airline has also removed reading materials and pillows. The carrier is deeply disinfecting its planes, and it stated that it has replaced the HEPA filters on aircraft which previously served routes to/from China.

In addition, the Indonesian authorities also have several requirements to help make flying safer. Passengers must provide a health certificate that states they are negative to COVID-19 before departure. The requirements of this heath certificate are different based on the destination airport. The document must show a negative result from a non-reactive rapid test or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/ swab test.

Passengers are also required to fill out a health alert card which is issued by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia.

Do you think Garuda Indonesia should stop crew using face masks? Let us know in the comments.