Garuda Indonesia will stop its flight attendants from wearing face masks after they received many complaints from unhappy passengers.

Passengers took issue with not being able to see the flight attendants’ expressions while they were being served, the airline’s chief executive officer Irfan Setiaputra said.

He also said that getting on a flight should be a pleasurable experience and he did not want to make passengers feel “like they were in an intensive care unit (ICU)”.

His comments were made as Indonesia continues to battle the spread of Covid-19.

“Many of Garuda’s adult passengers have been complaining about our stewardesses wearing masks," Irfan said during a webinar hosted by Bina Nusantara University on June 16, "the passengers cannot tell if they are smiling or frowning.”

Irfan added that the flight attendants would gradually switch to wearing face shields instead.

However, interactions with passengers will be minimised to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

Masks are needed, airline requirements say

Irfan's comments are bound to irk many people, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic is still ranging on in some countries.

“We do not want passengers to board the plane feeling unhappy or stressed out, or thinking, ‘oh, is this an ICU?’ when they get on," Irfan also said.

“Everyone wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), covered from head-to-toe, that’s not right.”

Both passengers and crew are currently required to wear a mask on board Garuda flights.

All passengers have to undergo a polymerase chain reaction test to check for Covid-19 before embarking on their journey.

Health checks are also conducted on each crew member before every flight.

This lax attitude to mask-wearing is problematic.

Airlines in the United States have gone to the extent of warning passengers they might be banned in the future if they refused to mask up now.

Irked people

“Garuda Indonesia is going to stop requiring flight attendants to wear PPE because passengers complained that they can’t see if they are being served with a smile or with a frown," a tweet said, sounding annoyed.

“If that’s what they’re worried about, we got their smile right here,” the tweet added with a gif of a woman slapping a man.

Garuda Indonesia is going to stop requiring flight attendants to wear personal protection equipment (PPE) because passengers complained that they can’t see if they are being served with a smile or with a frown.

If that’s what they’re worried about, we got their smile right here. pic.twitter.com/ZYtxAuJoK7

— Nuice Media (@nuicemedia) June 17, 2020