The mask requirements for airports, planes, buses, and rail systems have been extended twice by the Transportation Security Administration because of the covid cases across the world.
Trade groups have come together to send a letter to the White House urging the end of the mask mandate since the cases are slowly decreasing. With that letter being sent, the TSA is set to end the mandate on March 18th but can also be renewed if the unions have any objections.
According to NBC Chicago, in the letter the groups said ending travel advisories, repealing the federal mask mandate and working with other countries to end travel restrictions are crucial to restoring the U.S. economy and workforce.
“Effective, risk-based policies can be reinstated at any time if new variants of concern emerge or the public health situation deteriorates,” the letter read, in part. “It is now time for the administration to lead the country towards a new normal for travel and on a faster path to a full and even economic recovery.”
Although the CDC guidance has changed, The Association of Flight Attendants-CW, the largest flight attendance union in the US, has called for masking requirements to be extended again. This union represents more than 50,000 flight attendants at airlines United, Alaska, Hawaiian, Spirit and Frontier.
Although the mandate is set to be expiring soon, it’s unclear if it will happen or not.
Do you think this mask mandate for federal airlines should be lifted? Why or why not?
