This comes after a U.S. district judge ruled that mandates, which apply to planes, trains, and other public transportation, were unlawful.
The CDC said it asked the Justice Department to proceed with the appeal and that “an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.”
CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. See full CDC statement: https://t.co/xY9YcSlSxr
As of April 18, 2022, national forecasts predict 1,300–3,400 new #COVID19 deaths will likely be reported during the week ending May 14. That would bring the projected total number of U.S. deaths to 995,000–1,005,000. More: https://t.co/rcqjOX3Ypl. pic.twitter.com/WxA1h570aW
Airlines and airports, bus lines, and Amtrak dropped the mandate Monday evening within hours of the TSA announcing that it would no longer enforce the mandate, which was set to expire on May 3.
New Unruly Passenger Numbers since 1/1/2022: – 1,233 reports of unruly passengers – 797 related to facemasks – 370 investigations initiated – 192 FAA enforcement cases initiated Unruly Passenger Rate as of 4/10/22: 3.8 incidents per 10K flightshttps://t.co/ISiblzAzGipic.twitter.com/DO9K24uG8X
On Monday a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s mandate requiring masks to be worn in airports, on airplanes, trains, buses, and on other forms of public transportation.
The ruling is being reviewed. But late Monday, the Transportation Security Administration issued a statement informing the public that:
“Due to today’s court ruling, effective immediately, TSA will no longer enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs. TSA will also rescind the new Security Directives that were scheduled to take effect tomorrow. CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.“
TSA’s announcement was followed by messages from airports and airlines saying they too would no longer enforce the mask mandate.
Here are a couple of airport tweets on the subject. Note the tweet from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) where masks are still required.
We have been informed by the TSA that they will no longer be enforcing the national mask mandate at airports. As a result, masks are no longer required at DEN and we will be removing mask signage (which might take a bit of time).
Local TSA just advised us they will no longer be enforcing the directive that requires masking in the airport. That means that face coverings are no longer required at PDX. pic.twitter.com/hkMYa6lhcC
Airlines were pretty quick to declare that they would no longer be requiring passengers to wear masks on board either.
American Airlines, Alaska Airines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country, United Airlines and most every other airline issued a statement and/or sent out a social media post.
Masks are no longer required on domestic flights, select international flights (dependent upon the arrival country's requirements) or at U.S. airports. More comfortable keeping yours on? Go right ahead… the choice is yours (you look dino-mite either way)! pic.twitter.com/hwq678v55d
Face masks will no longer be required for our customers and team members at U.S. airports and on domestic flights (though there may be some exceptions based on local or country requirements). https://t.co/GT1lZq5TAf
✈️TRAVEL UPDATE✈️ Effective immediately, face masks are optional for our guests and employees onboard Hawaiian Airlines flights. We ask for our guests’ patience and understanding as we update all our communications and announcements to reflect this change. pic.twitter.com/wVSvOmETZE
You may – and maybe should – still wear a mask when you travel
While masks may no longer be required when traveling, it may still be a good idea to wear a mask in busy airports and on airplanes and on public transporation to and from the airport.
Coronavirus infections are on the rise in many communities and you, or someone around you, may be immunocompromised and easily susceptible to the current COVID variant, the flu, or whatever else may be going around.
There are also still a lot of unvaccinated people out there. So wearing a mask is an easy way to protect yourself and those around you.
If you decide to no longer wear a mask when traveling, please be respectful of those who continue to wear them.
We recognize that travelers and airport employees will have mixed feelings about this sudden change. We ask that people be kind and respectful of a person’s individual decision to wear a mask or not.
My most recent “At the Airport” column for USA TODAY takes a look at how airports are working to educate travelers about the Zika virus – and make sure airport grounds don’t become another breeding ground for the virus.
Shops and newsstands, including those run by the Hudson Group in Chicago O’Hare, Seattle-Tacoma and Orlando International Airports, are making sure to carry several brands of insect repellant, including OFF! Deep Woods and Cutter.
At Miami International Airport, an advisory (in English and Spanish) from the Centers for Disease Control is on display in passport clearance areas and airport employees have been issued cards instructing them how to recognize and respond to passengers with communicable diseases, including Zika.
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Zika prevention messages from the CDC (in English and Spanish) are front and center right next to many flight display screens.
And at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, signs have been placed throughout the airport, at the U.S. Customs area and in Baggage claim alerting travelers about the Zika virus and offering tips on protection and prevention measures. The airport has also made sure EPA-registered insect repellents are available for purchase in airport newsstands.
Orlando International Airport and both airports in Houston have Zika virus plans in place as well.
“Working in conjunction with our community partners, we feel these steps are not only appropriate but necessary to demonstrate our efforts at protecting our passengers and employees,” Orlando International said in a statement that outlined its plan.
And, among the strategies in place at the Houston airports are reminders to employees of the “4 D’s”: Drain (eliminate standing water); Dress (wear long sleeves, pants and socks); Dusk/Dawn (avoid these peak mosquito times) and DEET (use proper repellants).
What else do you need to know if you are heading somewhere where cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed?
“Bring plenty of mosquito repellent, long shirts and pants, and a full-coverage hat,” advises Julia Cosgrove, AFAR’s editor in chief. “Avoid areas where there’s standing water. And, if you are on the coast, stay close to the beach where there’s wind and relatively few mosquitoes.”
Lots in the news right now about Ebola and airports.
On Wednesday (October 8, 2014) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs & Border Protection (CBP) announced new entry screening procedures for the five U.S. airports that receive over 94 percent of travelers from the Ebola-affected nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
New York’s JFK International Airport will begin the new screening on Saturday. Enhanced entry screening at Washington-Dulles, Newark, Chicago-O’Hare, and Atlanta international airports will start next week.
The CDC issued this fact sheet detailing the screening procedures and the precautions that will be taken at the five U.S. airports and as well as the Ebola screening process underway for travelers leaving the affected countries.
Meanwhile, other airports around the country are issuing statements designed to reassure passengers that proper precautions are in place.
Orlando International Airport, for example, issued a statement telling travelers that “Airport Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF) and emergency medical paramedics are on duty 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week and follow established procedures and protocols already in place if there is an indication of a passenger displaying symptoms and a travel history associated with the disease.”
The statement also noted that “Orlando International Airport has NO direct or non-stop service to the region of West Africa most identified with the Ebola outbreak.”
It’s time to get a flu shot and being on the road all the time isn’t an excuse anymore for avoiding that task.
Especially since, as I wrote in my column on USATODAY.com this week, there are more than 23 airports where you can get a flu shot on the fly.
Here’s the story:
Robert Gibbs stays busy running his marketing agency and says finding time to nail down a doctor’s appointment is getting harder and harder.
So on Monday, when he arrived from Chicago and saw that the Harmony Pharmacy store at New York’s JFK airport was offering flu shots, he took off his heavy tweed jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeve. “I’d shopped there before and just thought ‘Now is as good a time as any.’ I didn’t feel weird at all,” said Gibbs, “In fact, getting a flu shot while running through the airport seemed pretty cool.”
First marketed to travelers by the medical clinic at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport seven or eight years ago, in-airport flu shots are being offered this year at clinics and temporary kiosks at close to two dozen airports stretching from Los Angeles to Miami.
“Flu costs Americans an estimated $3 billion or more each year in medical fees and indirect costs such as missed work,” said Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, in announcing the three vaccination stations now open at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. “Making vaccinations available at the airport ensures that even the busiest travelers can take steps to stay healthy and productive.”
The CDC and Dr. Z agree
The 2010-2011 flu season began in early October and, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the season will probably peak in January or February and possibly stretch into the spring. CDC recommends everyone 6 months or older get vaccinated and, unlike last year, says it’s not necessary to get a separate shot to protect against the seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus. “The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against an influenza A H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the 2009 H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season.”
At Chicago O’Hare, flu shots have been available at the airport medical clinic since August and at a stand-alone kiosk since Labor Day. “We don’t know what the flu season will be like this year yet,” says Dr. John Zautcke, Medical Director of the UIC-O’Hare Medical Clinic, “But the flu is a nasty disease that kills people who are old and sick and puts people that are young and healthy in bed for 4-6 days.”
Zautcke says that in addition to frequent hand washing, covering your nose and mouth when sneezing and trying to avoid close contact with sick people – which can be hard to do on an airplane – “The best thing travelers can do to avoid the flu is get a flu shot.”
Plenty of vaccines but fewer patients
Starting in November last year, there was a nationwide shortage of the seasonal flu vaccine because pharmaceutical companies switched to making vaccines for the H1N1 virus. This year, the vaccines are combined and there’s no shortage. But Jeff Butler of Flu*Ease, the company operating flu shot kiosks at more than a half-dozen airports, says airport flu shots don’t seem to be selling as robustly as they have in past years. “I don’t know whether it’s the mild weather, last year’s frenzy over H1N1 or the fact that people now have access to flu shots in so many stores and corporate offices,” says Butler.
“We’re finding the same thing,” says Rosemary Kelly, executive vice president of AeroClinic, which is offering flu shots this year at airports in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Baltimore and Minneapolis-St. Paul. “It just doesn’t seem to be as hot of a topic this year as it was last year.”
Not deterred
That isn’t stopping some airports from expanding their flu shot offerings. This year, San Diego International Airport has five vaccination stations in operation throughout the terminals. Four stations are located post-security, but one station is in a baggage claim area to make it easy for meeters and greeters, and passengers picking up checked bags, to get vaccinated while they wait. And at New York’s JFK Airport, Harmony Pharmacy is waiting for the final OK to open a second flu-shot station; this one in the center of JetBlue’s Terminal 5, by the performance stage.
And the fact that the flu isn’t in the news right now didn’t deter Diane Callen from getting her flu shot at the airport. Callen, a customer service agent at the Las Vegas airport, was robbed over the weekend. “Let’s just say I don’t need to worry about my jewelry anymore,” she said on Monday. After visiting the police station to fill out paperwork, Callen stopped at the Airport MD booth at McCarran International Airport before reporting for work. “It’s one of those things I usually don’t do unless it’s convenient and I figured the way things are going for me, I’d better go get that flu shot.”
