Put Your Face in Airplane Mode

My time on Delta Airlines 5308, seat 17B, sent my cortisol levels through the roof. Because of “bad weather” and “air traffic,” the departure time got pushed back … and again … and again. As we sat on the JFK tarmac for a solid two hours, a maskless woman directly in front of me didn’t stop coughing. They were sputtering, throaty noises like nothing I have heard before: Less your usual ack and more like huh-khleagggghhh. Since getting vaccinated, I haven’t exactly built my life around avoiding COVID—but still, I’d rather not get sick. And this flight, scheduled for a Wednesday evening in early June, felt more stressful than it had to be.

I did not end up getting COVID, though perhaps I got lucky. Mask wearing is no longer required by major airlines in the U.S., and as anyone who has flown recently can tell you, even in a month of crowded summer travel and the rapid spread of , Americans are done with masks. “Since the mask mandate ended, I’ve flown to Europe,