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.
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.
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.
