White House extends mask mandate on airplanes into January

Airline passengers flying in the United States must continue to wear face masks until at least January, the Transportation Security Administration said on Tuesday.

The White House required the wearing of face masks on airlines and public transport, including trains and buses, from January when President Joe Biden took office and extended the rule in May. The mask mandate was supposed to expire on September 13, but the resurgence of COVID-19 cases with the highly contagious Delta variant has led federal officials to continue taking precautionary measures. The rule also requires the wearing of masks in airports.

“The TSA will extend the guidelines until January 18, 2022,” said a TSA spokesman. “The purpose of the TSA’s Mask Policy is to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transport.”

Reuters reported that the Transportation Security Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified airline officials about the move on Tuesday.

While airlines pushed for the state mask mandate long after their own masking rules were passed, the measure was often controversial and flight attendants and pilots sometimes complained about having to monitor passengers who refuse to use masks.

The TSA and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

Most flight attendants and pilots, however, have supported the mask mandate, even if it complicates their work.

Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said flight attendants “are looking forward to the day when masks are no longer required, but we’re not there yet.”

“Masks are the most effective tool to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Nelson said in a statement. “While vaccination was key to the increased demand for air travel, the lagging vaccination rates and surge in the Delta variant have caused cases to skyrocket again – life-threatening, persistent viral mutation and recovery from this pandemic.”

The TSA has reported that masks were an issue with most recalcitrant passenger complaints this year.

In July, as the new spike in cases became apparent, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the airline would not push for an expansion of the mask rule, and neither would the airline trading group Airlines 4 America, of which he is president.

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