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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowArguing that the nation is in a different place than earlier in the pandemic and “well-protected” against severe disease caused by the coronavirus, U.S. airline executives Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to end pandemic-related travel policies, including the federal mask mandate.
The letter was signed by executives at Alaska Air, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, FedEx Express, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and UPS Airlines.
“Much has changed since these measures were imposed and they no longer make sense in the current public health context,” executives from 10 air carriers wrote in the letter to Biden. “Now is the time for the Administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions—including the international predeparture testing requirement and the federal mask mandate—that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment.”
In making their case, executives cited the “persistent and steady decline” of hospitalizations and death rates related to the coronavirus. In the past week, the number of U.S. cases has dropped 16%, the number of hospitalizations fell 17% and the number of deaths was down 19%, according to tracking by The Washington Post. Their request comes as health officials are watching the BA. 2 variant, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday accounted for about 35% of new infections nationally, up from 22% a week earlier.
The Biden administration recently extended the federal mask mandate for transportation until April 18. The requirement that people wear masks when flying on airplanes, riding buses and ferries, and in other public transportation settings had been set to expire this month.
The extension came as many states had rolled back rules that people wear masks indoors and after the CDC revised its rules on mask-wearing.
The letter from airline executives noted the contradictions in requiring masks in transportation settings, but not in other places.
“It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools and at sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration system that aircraft do,” the letter said.
Even groups that previously supported the mandate, including the American Public Transportation Association, has said it is time to set the requirement aside.
The letter also said a policy that requires travelers to the United States to show proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding their flight had “outlived its utility.” The requirement was put into place in early December as part of an effort slow the introduction of the omicron variant and other variants into the country.
The industry generally supported pre-departure testing at the time it began, but argued in the letter that continuing such a requirement—when the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada have dropped theirs—puts the U.S. travel and tourism industry at a disadvantage.
The letter also noted the toll that policies, particularly the mask mandate, has taken on front-line employees charged with enforcing the requirement.
In 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration reported it had received nearly 6,000 reports of unruly passenger behavior, more than 70% of which were mask-related. Similarly, the Transportation Security Administration, which is charged with enforcing the policy at security checkpoints and in other transportation settings, reported it had investigated 3,800 mask-related incidents.
“It is critical to recognize that the burden of enforcing both the mask and predeparture testing requirements has fallen on our employees for two years now,” they wrote. “This is not a function they are trained to perform and subjects them to daily challenges by frustrated customers. This in turn takes a toll on their own well-being.”
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I disagree. Crowded public transportation — in this case, airlines — is exactly where the mask mandate belongs.
Airlines of course have borne the brunt of violence and disruptions due to unruly passengers in defiance of rules. Correspondingly, one understands why these companies want the make mandates lifted so they can be free of being masking enforcers. Perhaps more air marshalls should have been dispatched to assist airlines with mask enforcement — water under the bridge, so to speak. One ponders however if an airline might be held responsible for any future illness outbreak tracked to a specific flight as has occurred with cruise ships.
The mandate is to end on April 18. Just wait. Thereafter, those who fly can decide to mask or not mask.
When you say “the mask mandate is to end April 18. Just wait. ” Therin lies the problem… It was previously sched to end Mar 17 (or thereabouts) and was extended without fanfare or comment.
There has been no benchmark stated or even a public guideline when it should be lifted. That is why the airline leaders are pushing in concert – as they are mandated to do somerhing that is increasingly out of step with even the most mask-conscious parts of the country, and in a tight labor market, creates some major issues, I’d imagine, in staff recruitment, retention.
I agree with Derek C. as it is only three weeks left. Simply wait. Time will fly as fast as our airlines.