Dallas (WBAP/KLIF) – Southwest Airlines has announced it will start filling the middle seats again on airplanes beginning December first. The airline made the announcement in a series of tweets. The airlines said, “This decision was not made lightly and we’d like to share how we arrived at it.” The tweets went on to say “a growing body of data and research supports that face masks and enhanced cleaning, coupled with HEPA filtration, are highly effective measures to protect against the transmission of COVID-19 in air travel.” Southwest added, “A research bulletin from Harvard’s School of Public Health included a study around masks and ventilation. When all onboard wore masks, infection risk from breathing was reduced to less than 1%.” The airline says it will continue to take a science-based approach to its procedures and policies moving forward. The company did say it will notify passengers if a flight becomes 65% full, so they can decide if they want to change their flight.
