Back in March an American Airlines flight attendant wrote about her ordeal trying to wear a face shield while working flights. She viewed it as taking precautions to protect herself while some passengers refused to comply with the carrier’s mask requirement. The airline told her she should just go on leave if she felt unsafe, and that she made “customers feel uncomfortable.”

Now, according to flight attendant-focused site Paddle Your Own Kanoo, American Airlines has reversed its ban on flight attendants wearing face shields.

American previously told flight attendants that face shields could pose problems with donning oxygen masks or a fire fighting hood in the event of an emergency, as well as performing CPR, or performing an emergency evacuation. But a spokesperson for American, says the airline worked with the FAA and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) to gain a special exemption that now permits the use of a face shield.

In March I wrote about an American Airlines flight attendant risking discipline for wearing a face mask. A manager in Boston left this crewmember a threatening voicemail. American’s official explanation was that CDC guidelines said masks weren’t necessary. They reversed themselves within a day, and now even requires them for customers.

While masks seemed a no-brainer, in May I sort of understood an airline’s perspective that face shields were sort of creepy, beyond any FAA concerns. Still I came down on the side that for the duration of the federal COVID-19 emergency declaration I’d take a relaxed approach to appearance standards to accommodate employee desires for protective equipment as long as it does not pose a challenge for the safe operation of the aircraft.