Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, tested positive for Covid-19. He and other airline chiefs and lawmakers were not wearing masks.
The CEOs of United Airlines and American Airlines, as well as the chief of operations of Delta Air Lines and the president of the flight attendant union, testified for more than three hours at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Gary tested positive for carbon dioxide after returning home and taking a test, despite testing negative multiple times before the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, according to a Southwest spokeswoman. Gary is resting at home and doing well, he has been fully vaccined and received the booster earlier this year.
John Laughter, Delta's chief of operations, who testified in the hearing on Wednesday and sat two seats away from Kelly, tested negative on Thursday and Friday.
The airline said that he would continue to test and take other precautions.
Neither American nor United immediately commented.
Demand for air travel collapsed when the Pandemic began, but has since recovered thanks to domestic leisure trips. Despite the spread of the omicron variant, executives from Delta and United this week said they are ready for the holiday season.
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is holding a hearing on Capitol Hill.
The witnesses were questioned about recent flight disruptions, airlines hiring trouble, as well as vaccine mandates.
