CEO Airlines Push White House to End Mask Mandate

By Alice Seeley

The CEOs of 10 major American airlines have signed a letter to President Joe Biden requesting he end the transportation mask mandate and testing requirements for international travelers.

After almost two years of strictly enforced mask mandates on planes and punishing travelers who do not comply, airlines are tired of the restrictions and want an end to the federal mask requirement for air travel.

In the letter to President Biden, Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote, “the federal mask mandate and pre-departure testing no longer fit with the current environment.”

The letter, signed by the CEOS of Delta, American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, UPS Airlines, Alaska Air Group, Atlas Air, FedEx Express, Hawaiian Airlines, and their industry lobbying group Airlines for America, emphasized the air filtration system in the airline planes. The letter stated that the air filtration system makes airplanes “one of the safest indoor environments.” The letter pointed out that mask mandates are lifted in all other venues, so “it makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes.”

The airlines said restrictions “are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment” and need to be lifted.

The letter also mentioned the struggle flight staff deal with enforcing the mask mandate. The mask mandate has significantly increased the number of unruly passengers on airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that, since January 2021, there was a record high of 6,942 unruly passenger incidents reported, 70 % of which occurred because of the mask mandate.

Although all 50 states announced plans to end the indoor mask mandates, the Transportation Security Administration has not followed suit. Instead, the TSA recently extended the mask mandate until April 18.

Last week, the U.S. Senate attempted to abolish the mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation. The Senate voted 57 to 40 to overturn the 13-month-old public health order. However, this move was very quickly vetoed by Biden.