The federal mask mandate on airlines will likely be extended, according to the largest union of flight attendants.
An extension would require airline passengers to continue wearing masks past March 18, the currently enforced end date for the mask mandate.
“We have every expectation that the mask mandate will be extended for the near term … The conditions in aviation are the same. Our youngest passengers do not yet have access to the vaccine,” the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA told Bloomberg on Tuesday.
BIDEN MAY EXTEND MASK MANDATES DESPITE STATES DROPPING THEM
The federal mandate on wearing masks while flying was established in February 2021 and has been extended three times since then. The Transportation Security Administration announced each extension a few weeks before the expected expiration date, the report said. The last extension occurred in August 2021.
Flights and the mask mandate have been a regular source of conflict and drama aboard several airlines. At least one flight has reversed course due to passengers rejecting the staff’s call for them to wear a mask. Other families have alleged that they were kicked off flights due to children not wearing masks while on the plane.
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The TSA has increased penalties for those who failed to comply with mask mandates, threatening to charge offenders with fines between $500 and $3,000 depending on repeat offenses.
Airplane filters play a significant part in minimizing the risk of infection. The high-efficiency particulate air filters in planes remove more than 99.97% of dangerous particles from the air, according to an October 2020 report from the Aviation Public Health Initiative. The planes also filter 40% of its air through HEPA filters while the remainder is piped in from outside.
