US Southwest Airlines CEO tests positive for COVID-19 after Senate hearing

HOUSTON - Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, has tested positive for COVID-19, the company headquartered in Dallas of the US state of Texas said Friday, two days after he attended a hearing in US Senate along with some other US airline chiefs and lawmakers.

"Although testing negative multiple times prior to the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, Gary tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home, experiencing mild symptoms, and taking a PCR test," a Southwest spokeswoman said in a statement.

"Gary is doing well and currently resting at home... Gary's symptoms continue to be mild, and each day he is moving closer to a full recovery," said the statement.

Kelly has been fully vaccinated and received a booster earlier this year, the statement added.

Kelly, along with the CEOs of United Airlines and American Airlines, Delta Air Lines' chief of operations, and the president of the country's largest flight attendant union, testified in person for more than three hours at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, according to a CNBC report, noting that many of the attendees including Kelly didn't wear masks.

During the hearing, Kelly touted the effectiveness of on-board air filtration and circulation systems and said: "I think the case is very strong that masks don't add much if anything in the air cabin environment."

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said he concurred with Kelly's response at the hearing, but the company on Thursday issued a statement saying he meant to concur with "comments made by other witnesses about the high quality of aircraft cabin air, and did not intend to cast doubt on the necessity of face masks on planes."

Earlier this month, the administration of President Joe Biden extended the federal mandate on masks on airplanes and other transit modes through March 18.