UPDATE: Major Airlines Drop Mask Mandate After Federal Judge Rules Against It
As we near the April 18 expiration date of the federal transportation mask mandate in the U.S. many are concerned about what the future of traveling will look like.
The U.S. government’s mask mandate, which went into effect on February 1, 2021, applies to people on planes, trains, ferries and other modes of public transportation. It was first set to expire March 18, 2021, but has been extended three times. Last month it was challenged in a lawsuit filed by Republican lawmakers from 21 states including: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
The chief executives of the country’s largest airlines also asked President Joe Biden in a letter to let federal mask mandates at airports and on planes lapse on April 18, along with COVID-19 testing requirements for international travelers. The letter stated that mask mandates “no longer make sense in the current public health context” and that “science clearly supports lifting the mask mandate.”
RELATED: CDC Loosens Mask Guidelines as Omicron Surge Subsides
Is the tide turning?
Several international airlines, particularly in Europe, have already begun eliminating mandatory masking on flights, according to CNET.
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Over the past few weeks, Danish airports and London’s Heathrow Airport have lifted their mask requirements, as have several major British airlines.
Airline employees in England rejoiced in regards to the end of mask mandates. “First flight done without a mask and it was an absolute dream,” a woman, who identified herself as a flight attendant from Yorkshire, England, on her social media accounts, recently wrote on Twitter, alongside a photo of her fully visible smile, according to the New York Times.
On April 4, Norwegian Air announced that it was removing mask requirements for all of its flights.
Following the end of mask mandates in England and Wales, British Airways also lifted its mask requirements on some of its flights.
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Swedish airline SAS has eliminated required masking on flights within Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Meanwhile, passengers over 6 that are traveling to or from other countries must still wear masks.
On March 16, Virgin Atlantic made masks optional for fliers traveling to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and Jamaica.
Icelandic Air has also made masks optional for all flights except
