Mask mandate for airlines and trains: Will it end or be extended?

The federal requirement to wear masks on airplanes and public transportation is scheduled to expire on April 18, and Republican executives and Republican lawmakers they are asking the Biden administration to let the mandate die. But a Biden official said extending the mandate is still a possibility.

The fate of the rule and the consideration of an alternative “framework” of movements to limit the spread COVID-19[feminine] – was under discussion Monday at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Officials described it as an incoming call.

“This is a decision that will be made by CDC Director Dr. (Rochelle) Walensky.” Ashish Jha, White House coronavirus policy advisor he said Monday. “I know the CDC is working on developing a scientific framework on how to respond. I think we’ll see that framework come out in the next few days.”

“Table” mask rule extension

Jha said re-extending the mask’s mandate is “on the table.”

The administration gave the rule a one-month suspension in March to give public health officials time to develop alternative methods to limit COVID-19 transmission during travel.

He mask mandate it is the most visible vestige of government restrictions on controlling the pandemic, and possibly the most controversial. An increase of abusive and sometimes violent incidents in aircraft it has been attributed mainly to disputes over the use of masks.

Airlines have reported 1,081 incidents of unruly passengers so far in 2022, according to the FAA. Some 700 of those incidents involved face masks, the agency said.

Critics have taken advantage of the fact that states have overturned rules requiring masks in restaurants, shops and other indoor environments, and yet COVID-19 cases have plummeted since the Omicron variant went peak in mid-January.

“The American people have seen through the false logic that COVID-19 only exists on airplanes and public transportation,” Republican House and Senate Transportation Committee members said Friday in a letter to the administration.

And CEOs of nearly a dozen airlines, including American, Delta, JetBlue and United, sent a letter to the White House urging the Biden administration to step down. it was COVID flight safety precautions, including the mask rule and the requirement that international travelers give COVID-19 negative before flying to the US

“It doesn’t make sense that people are still required to wear masks on planes, but they are allowed to congregate in restaurants, schools and sporting events full of people without masks, although none of these places have the protective system. of air filtration that airplanes do “. wrote the executives.

Recent increase in COVID-19

However, a recent increase in cases could provide reasons for the CDC to keep the mask rule a little longer.

After a sharp two-month decline, the seven-day average of new cases of COVID-19 reported in the United States has risen slightly in recent days, albeit from relatively low levels.

Several prominent officials have recently contracted the virus, including 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California who tested positive for the virus last week after appearing without a mask at a House event. White with President Joe Biden. . Also last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo revealed that they had tested positive after a meeting that was quickly dubbed a broadcast event.

The increase in the number of cases has also led city ​​of Philadelphiaand a handful of colleges and universities to restore mask mandates in the foreseeable future.

Airlines began requiring masks in 2020, months before the government’s mandate was issued after President Joe Biden took office. At the time, airlines were facing financial ruin due to the pandemic, and masks and other measures, such as blocking the middle seats, were aimed at reassuring frightened passengers that flying was safe. .

In December, Southwest Airlines CEO was forced to return a comment that the masks didn’t do much to improve cabin safety because the planes have strong air filters.

Passengers have returned (the number of Americans boarding planes exceeded 2 million a day in March) and airlines believe they can sell many seats without the mask rule.

“My flight attendants are asking us to stop it,” said Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle. “It’s causing all these incidents on board every day, and it’s frustrating and dangerous. You’re asking a 24-year-old flight attendant to tell someone who’s crazy about the rule.”

The unions representing flight attendants supported the mask rule, but are now neutral. Union officials say its members are divided.

Airlines for America, a commercial group representing these major airlines, and three other industry organizations made a similar call to Dr. It’s Friday. They pointed to a recent CDC guideline that found that most Americans no longer need to wear masks indoors because hospitalization rates in their communities are relatively low.

Could the fall of the mandate be counterproductive?

According to experts, public health and business interests are more aligned than some business leaders say.

And dropping mask rules could be counterproductive in more ways than one if older, immunocompromised passengers consider flying without masks to be too risky an activity.

Also, if more crew members are exposed to the virus, get sick, and are unable to show up for work, airlines could face significant schedule interruptions.

For example, the Swiss company EasyJet he had to cancel hundreds of flights after abandoning his mask mandate, citing higher-than-usual levels of staff illness due to COVID-19.

Savanthi Syth, an analyst at Raymond James & Associates, said there are some people who will feel uncomfortable flying with other passengers who are not wearing masks, but there may be others who have avoided flying because they are not comfortable wearing them. ne one during a long flight.

“I hope the vast majority of passengers and flight attendants will welcome the change (if the rule is removed), as it is consistent with most other areas of daily life,” Syth said. He said any impact on travel demand would be small and that airlines would gain much more momentum by removing the test requirement for incoming international travelers.

Chris Lopinto, co-founder of travel site ExpertFlyer.com, said that due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, it might be prudent to keep the mask mandate until the cases dwindle again.

“I don’t think there is a material effect on demand in any way, given that airlines can barely keep up with the demand they already have,” he said.

Most Democrats in Congress continue to support the mask’s mandate. A Liberal leader, Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, urged the CDC and the Transportation Security Administration to keep the rule in place, saying the virus and its variants remain a threat to seniors and people. with weakened or disabled immune systems.

The political calculation, however, could be changing. Last month, eight Democrats broke with the White House and joined Senate Republicans in a symbolic vote against the mask’s mandate. Four of those Democrats are facing tough contests for re-election in November, and the party is unlikely to retain control of the Senate if any of them lose.

In:
• Mask guidelines