After he flew without a mask, American Airlines reminds Ted Cruz of its face covering policy

Ted Cruz.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/AFP via Getty Images)

American Airlines on Monday said it contacted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after a photo of him not wearing a mask on a Sunday morning flight went viral, and affirmed with him "the importance" of the company's face covering policy.

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Hosseh Enad, a marketing associate for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, tweeted a picture on Sunday night showing a maskless Cruz sitting in his seat, his cellphone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Enad also tweeted a photo he said was of Cruz sitting outside the gate, not wearing a mask.

Since May 12, American Airlines has required that customers wear face masks while on board. In a statement to Reuters, the company said it expects passengers "to comply with our policies when they choose to travel with us." While the mask policy "does not apply while eating or drinking," the airline said, after reviewing the photo it still "reached out to Sen. Cruz to affirm the importance of this policy as part of our commitment to protecting the health and safety of the traveling public."

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The Washington Post asked Cruz's office for comment, and representatives have yet to respond.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.