Airlines Urge U.S. to Drop Testing, Mask Requirements

Airways for America’s board of directors on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden and associates of his administration, such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, urging them to drop federal transportation Covid-19 constraints, like intercontinental predeparture testing and the passenger mask mandate, in accordance to the field organization.

Signatories of the letter integrated the CEOs of American Airways, United Airlines, Delta Air Traces, Alaska Air Group, JetBlue Airways and Hawaiian Airlines, and the previous CEO and now chairman of Southwest Airways.

The ask for noted that the required measures produced feeling when imposed but are “now out-of-date.” The predeparture exam requirement, designed to slow the introduction of variants into the United States, has “outlived its utility and stymies the return of international travel.” It also generates a drawback for the U.S. journey field, because the United Kingdom and European Union presently have lifted some journey limitations, in accordance to the letter.

A4A in arguing to get rid of the mask mandate cited the Centers for Condition Command and Prevention’s stance that “99 percent of the U.S. inhabitants no longer need to wear masks indoors,” and two research that concluded that “an plane cabin is one particular of the safest indoor environments thanks to the mix of very filtered air and continual air stream coupled with the downward route of air.”

The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration on March 10 extended the mask mandate for community transportation and transportation hubs by one month to April 18. 

The letter included that “it can make no sense that individuals are still expected to wear masks on airplanes, nonetheless are permitted to congregate in crowded dining places, colleges and at sporting gatherings without having masks, inspite of none of these venues owning the protecting air filtration method that aircraft do.”

In a separate statement posted Wednesday on Delta’s web-site, CEO Ed Bastian said, “Existing facts and science demonstrate it is time to shift from mandates to assistance and personalized wellbeing selections.”

On March 14, the Govt Accountability Business reported that amongst Feb. 2, 2021, when the mask mandate was implemented, to March 7, 2022, TSA issued much more than 2,700 warning notices and 922 civil penalties from passengers in violation of the directive, totaling $644,398. All but 44 of the civil penalties were for violations in airports or on aircraft.