The U.S. Department of Transportation’s rule requiring passengers to have their faces covered during takeoff and landing was initially passed in March 2017. The requirement, which became effective immediately, applies to passengers flying with the following airlines: all airports in the US, US Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, US Airways Express, Virgin America, WestJet, Hawaiian Airlines, Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways, Envoy Air, Sun Country Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Horizon Air, and Frontier Airlines.
The airline mask mandate has been extended by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) through January 18, 2022.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is in the middle of a legal battle with airplane passengers in regards to the requirement to wear full-face masks when traveling by air. Because TSA officials have not been able to keep up with the number of people they are inspecting for this security measure, they are asking the courts to allow them to continue to enforce this policy for the foreseeable future.
The mandate for airline masks will be extended until January 18, 2022.
on August 17, 2021 by Gary Leff
The federal transportation mask requirement will be extended until January 18, 2022, according to President Biden. Today, major U.S. airlines were notified by phone, with airline unions to be notified on Wednesday.
The mask requirement for air travel, which is usually regarded safer than most other indoor congregant settings, persisted even after the CDC withdrew its recommendation that vaccinated Americans wear masks inside. When the CDC advised indoor masking once again, it seemed that the need for air travel would be maintained.
Since last summer, all U.S. airlines have forced passengers to wear masks on their own. President Biden ran on a platform of mask requirements, but while in office, he didn’t pursue legislation and discovered that existing federal authorities could only be extended to include transportation and transit hubs.
The mask mandate was largely redundant when it first went into effect, except that because it applies to everyone two years old or older, it overrode Delta’s exemption for young children, and because it requires a medical exemption process, United, Southwest, and American had to loosen their rules slightly.
The mandate was supposed to expire in May, but it has been extended until September 13, 2021. I anticipated that the mask requirement will be extended last month.
- The transportation mask requirement, according to some Biden advisers, should be made permanent. That would need either a legislative amendment or an indefinite extension of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that a public health emergency exists (under 42 USC 247d).
- Mask restrictions, in my opinion, will be phased down before the midterm elections in 2022. Control of the US House and Senate is razor-thin, and the President will prefer to proclaim victory symbolically rather than making his decision to prolong pandemic restrictions indefinitely an election issue in the few contestable seats.
Customers were able to travel early in the epidemic because to the use of masks. Seeing everyone else disguised helped travelers feel safer, even if it was inconvenient for them. That is no longer the case, and airline CEOs have expressed their wish to see the rule phased away.
Because mask requirements have been a source of stress on flights and an increase in customer problems, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker has been promising for two months that the company would bring back inflight alcohol if the mask mandate is lifted.
In indoor congregant environments like airports, which lack the HEPA air filtering of aircraft, I believe it is a wonderful idea to correctly use a high-quality mask. I also don’t understand why individuals should be required to wear masks, primarily for the safety of those who refuse to get vaccinated, especially when vaccinations are available and boosters are about to be approved. The rule is almost worthless for really limiting virus transmission when a single sheet of paper with two strings satisfies the mask requirement.
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