The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order late on Friday evening mandating the wearing of face masks on airplanes and other forms of public transport for all passengers over the age of two. The order will come into effect on February 1 at 11:59 pm (EST) and makes good on an election promise made by President Joe Biden.
Airlines have been imposing their own mask mandates since May 2020 after the Trump administration declined to get involved but the new order will make the requirement to wear a mask legally enforceable and provides consistent guidance across carriers.
The following rules will now apply to air travellers and other public transport passengers:
- The federal mask mandate applies to all passengers aged two or over
- Masks must be made of at least layers and must be worn over both the mouth and nose
- It’s acceptable to remove the mask to eat or drink but only for “brief periods”
- Masks with exhalation valves, holes or slits won’t be accepted
Passengers with a disability that prevents them from wearing a face mask as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act will also be exempt from wearing a mask. In practice, this exemption may actually ease the existing mask mandates imposed by the likes of American and United Airlines who ban all passengers if they are unable to wear a face mask.
The order applies to both domestic and international travel and airlines will now have to tell passengers that failing to comply with the order will be a violation of federal law. Airlines and other public transport operators will also be expected to take a much more pro-active approach to monitoring passengers for compliance and dealing with anti-maskers.
The costs of doing so could soon mount up as the order tells airlines that they must disembark passengers who refuse to comply with the order at the “earliest opportunity”. This could include diverting planes to an alternative airport if a passenger refuses to wear their mask midway through a flight.
Airlines have been hesitant to take such extreme action because of the cost and disruption involved in a diverting a plane. Anti-maskers could, however, be pursued through the courts to recover any costs involved in a diversion which could easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
President Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office that paved the way for a federal mask mandate but some ideas that are coming from the order are proving less popular with airlines and aviation unions.
On Friday, a group of industry trade bodies and unions railed against plans to introduce pre-departure testing rules for domestic flights. In an open letter signed by the likes of Airlines 4 America which represents major carriers including Delta, United and American Airlines, the group said it was “concerned” about media reports of pre-departure testing.
“A pre-departure testing mandate for domestic air travel would divert testing and financial resources away from more pressing public health priorities,” the letter warned. “Singling out air travel also would not effectively capture movement from state to state since travelers are likely to simply drive, take a bus or a train,” it continued.
The United States has already introduced pre-departure testing for international arrivals and the Biden administration is also considering introducing mandatory quarantine rules like has been done by a growing list of countries.
