The CDC mask mandate was struck down by a federal judge. United Airlines will continue to enforce masks.
The mask mandate was struck down today by a US District Judge who said it was an overstep of authority by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The case centered on the meaning of the word. The 1944 statute, which the federal government used to justify the mandate, only allowsmeasures that clean something.
“Wearing a mask cleans nothing. At most, it traps virus droplets. But it neither ‘sanitizes’ the person wearing the mask nor ‘sanitizes’ the conveyance.”
The CDC requires mask wearing as a measure to keep something clean, but never contends that it actively destroys or removes it.
She found that the mandate was forcibly removed from airplane seats, that the board was denied at the bus steps, and that she was turned away from the train station.
“As a result, the Mask Mandate is best understood not as sanitation, but as an exercise of the CDC’s power to conditionally release individuals to travel despite concerns that they may spread a communicable disease (and to detain or partially quarantine those who refuse). But the power to conditionally release and detain is ordinarily limited to individuals entering the United States from a foreign country.”
The mandate was called anarbitrary and capricious because it failed to explain its reasoning.
It is not clear if the Biden Administration will appeal. May 3, 2022, is when the mask mandate expires.
Even though the mask mandate was struck down, United Airlines will still require masks on board.
The employees of United Airlines were told this afternoon.
The federal requirement that masks be worn on board aircraft and in airports remains in effect for both customers and employees, despite the decision by a federal judge on Monday that struck down the federal mask mandate. The federal mandate originally went into effect in February 2021 but has been extended a number of times. We await additional information from the federal government on whether it will challenge the ruling or rescind the order. Until that time, the airport mask policy remains unchanged.
Live and Let's Fly reached out to other airlines, but did not hear back before press time. At this point, it's safe to say that airlines will continue to defer to the federal government and require masks on board until they get guidance otherwise.
The CDC rules requiring masks on trains, busses, and airplanes were thrown out by a federal judge in Florida. United Airlines will keep masking requirements until it hears from the federal government. I expect other airlines to do the same.
The image is of United Airlines.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
