Airlines tell crew not to force people to wear masks -- flying in the face of what they've promised they're doing: report

In an exclusive report Tuesday, Reuters revealed that U.S. airlines are telling crew members not to force passengers to wear masks if they don't want to. It's the opposite of what they're telling the public they're doing.

"American Airlines Holdings Inc (AAL.O), Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) and United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL.O) have told employees that they may deny boarding at the gate to anyone not wearing a face covering, and are providing masks to passengers who do not have them, the three carriers told Reuters," the report said.

It wasn't long ago that American Airlines and Delta announced on Twitter they are requiring customers to wear face masks.

But according to Reuters, “once on board and off the gate, the face covering policy becomes more lenient." American Airlines told "the flight attendant’s role is informational, not enforcement, with respect to the face covering policy."

“Bottom line to the pilots: a passenger on board your aircraft who is being compliant with the exception of wearing a face covering is NOT considered disruptive enough to trigger a Threat Level 1 response,” the instruction said, referring to intentional conflict or disruption by a passenger that could ultimately lead to the plan being diverted or grounded.

Read the full report by Reuters.