Aeroflot to put passengers who refuse to wear masks in special section of plane

Mask-free zone located at back of aircraft

An Aeroflot's aircraft takes off at Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport (AFP/Getty Images)

An airline is to seat passengers who refuse to wear a mask in a special section of the aircraft.

Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier, said it had a dedicated area for maskless travellers.

This mask-free zone will be located at the back of the plane, in the last couple of rows on the right-hand side, reports the Moscow Times.

“Dedicated seats are allocated to passengers who declare their refusal to use masks after [the aircraft's] doors close,” an Aeroflot spokesperson told Reuters.

However, the airline also announced this week that any passenger not wearing a mask would be denied boarding, without exception.  

It means those that cannot wear a mask for medical reasons will not be allowed to fly with the carrier.

Travellers are also required to change their mask every three hours during flights.

Presumably, the mask-free section is reserved for passengers who wear a face covering while boarding but remove it once the aircraft has left the gate.

It follows many stories of passengers in the US being removed from flights after refusing to wear a mask.

On 3 December, a woman was kicked off a Frontier Airlines flight from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Tampa, Florida, after calling an airline employee an “a**hole”.

Video of the exchange shows a member of Frontier staff explaining the rules about mandatory mask wearing and asking the woman to comply, before telling her she’ll have to deplane.

“Ma'am you need to have a mask on. You need to have the paper mask they provided,” the staff member can be heard saying in footage shared on social media.

“You have to wear your mask the whole entire flight. If you’re unable to do so you will be removed from the flight.”

The employee waits for a moment before turning away – at which point the passenger can be clearly heard retorting: “Thanks, a**hole”.

“OK, you’re done. Let’s go,” replies the Frontier worker. “You’re getting off the aircraft. You’re done, you’re not going to speak to me like that.”