The coronavirus has changed pretty much everything, and travel is definitely one of those things. When we get in our car, we notice that the roads are far less crowded than they used to be. Other forms of transportation are also less crowded.

Airlines have seen a major drop in passengers. Part of this is due to people staying home and not wanting to travel. Another reason is that airlines are limiting the number of passengers to help with social distancing.

Take JetBlue. The U.S. airline has recently made some major changes. They are sanitizing the insides of their planes more often and more thoroughly than ever. This includes high touch places like seats and tray tables. They also equipped all of their airplanes with hospital-grade HEPA air filters to clean the cabin air every three minutes.

The biggest change for passengers entering the airport is that they need to wear a face mask from the time they enter the terminal to the time they leave the terminal at their destination. JetBlue is the first U.S. airline to require passengers to wear face coverings in order to fly.

JetBlue is instituting this new policy in order to follow advice from the CDC. Going along with the CDC guidelines, young children who can not keep face coverings on their faces are an exception to this rule, and they are not required to wear face coverings. Everyone else needs to follow this new rule, or chances are, you may not be able to board the airplane.

An acceptable face covering is a piece of fabric that fits snuggly against the face and covers both the nose and mouth. It also needs to be secured around the head either with ear loops or ties. Obviously, the face covering also needs to be easy to breathe through.

What the face covering does not need to be and should not be is a surgical or N-95 mask. JetBlue specifically requests that those masks are saved for medical workers who need them most.

This new face covering policy goes into effect on May 4, 2020. Jet Blue crew members are already required to wear face coverings.

If you have a flight booked on JetBlue but don’t have a face covering, you can easily make your own. Try this t-shirt DIY face mask, or this easy no-sew option.

Do you think more airlines should follow JetBlue’s lead and start requiring passengers to wear face coverings? Does this new policy make you more likely to feel safe flying on a JetBlue airplane?