Las Vegas airport has installed vending machines that sell masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer
For travelers who need face masks or hand sanitizer on the fly, this Las Vegas airport has got you covered.
The move comes as all major U.S. airlines and an increasing number of airports now require passengers to wear masks or other face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic.
The airport announced the new machines on Twitter on Thursday, calling them “a new option to help protect yourself and others while traveling.”
A new option to help protect yourself and others while traveling. LAS was the first airport to install PPE vending machines from which travelers can purchase items like gloves and hand sanitizer. These machines can be found in T1 ticketing and near the T3 TSA checkpoint. pic.twitter.com/1suaVel412
— McCarran Airport (@LASairport) May 14, 2020
The vending machines sell disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, tissues, and an array of colorful masks: a 10-pack of wipes will set you back $5.25, and a four-pack of gloves is $4.50. The hand sanitizer will squeeze you $4.25 for a 1.7-ounce bottle, running up to $6.50. As for masks, a KN95 disposable mask costs $8.25, while a cloth reusable masks (in both adult and kid sizes) are $14.50 apiece.
McCarran Airport spokesperson Christine Crews told CNN: “The whole world is going through behavioral modification and learning new habits, so it’s not unthinkable that someone could show up at the airport and not have the new necessities that are part of travel.”
The vending machines are owned and operated by California company Prepango, and are located in Terminal 1 ticketing and near the Terminal 3 TSA checkpoint.
Most airlines and airports now require passengers to have some sort of face covering.
According to Crews, McCarran is the first airport to install such vending machines. She told CNN they will have a “rotating stock based on what’s available
Las Vegas, like airports around the country, has seen passenger traffic plummet since the coronavirus outbreak began earlier this year and travel came to a halt. In March alone, 2.3 million fewer passengers traveled through the airport, a 53% decline.
In 2019, more than 51 million passengers, a record, flew in and out of the gambling and entertainment hot spot.
While many people on Twitter applauded the move, some noted in the comments that the vending machines are not touchless, meaning someone could come into contact with the virus or another germ while ordering the PPE. Many asked how often the keypad would be sanitized, which was not immediately answered.
