ROANOKE, Va. – Passengers were few and far between on Monday afternoon at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, but almost everyone was wearing a mask when they arrived or waited to take off.
“I’m fine with it. There’s no ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on that one," said passenger Darren Harvey.
Harvey said most people he’s seen in airports are wearing masks.
“It’s a good sense of safety," he said.
The pandemic has not made him reconsider how much he flies.
“I feel safer flying, actually," said Harvey. "I fly all the time, so I’m used to it.”
Katherine Thatcher is a big fan of masks on airplanes.
“I think it should be mandatory," Thatcher said.
They don’t make her feel any safer, though.
“I don’t feel safe at all. It fogs up my glasses and I can’t see. I rely on my vision more than my mask," said Thatcher.
If you show up for your flight without a mask, airport marketing director Brad Boettcher said there’s no need to panic.
“The carriers are providing them, and if for some reason there’s a supply disruption with their masks, the Hudson News down on the concourse also has them for sale," Boettcher explained.
The mask mandate may come at good time, as the airport is getting busier.
“Today, we had about 73 passengers going out. We’ve been in that 80 to 100 range, so it’s rebounded from the lows but it’s still nowhere near where it used to be," Boettcher said.
As for requiring masks in the airport itself, Boettcher said if that mandate comes down from the CDC the airport will comply, but as of Monday it was optional.