TSA No Longer Enforcing Transportation Mask Mandate

A federal judge in Florida ruled against the federal mandate requiring facial coverings on public transportation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not follow proper rulemaking and the mask mandate was voided by a United States District Judge.

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BREAKING: A federal judge voided the current mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation. pic.twitter.com/3bGodH5xRJ

— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) April 18, 2022

The CDC extended the nationwide mask requirements for public transportation through May 3 as it monitors reports of a surge in coronavirus cases. The government extended the order that was set to expire on April 18 due to the need to monitor for any increase in severe virus outcomes as cases rise in parts of the country.

President Joe Biden and his administration said they were still working on a more flexible masking strategy to replace the mandate.

According to CNBC.com, the Transportation Security Administration said it would no longer enforce the mask mandate on public transportation.

The administration of President Biden is reviewing the court's ruling and the Justice Department will make a decision on whether to appeal, according to the White House press secretary.

A group of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in March to block mask requirements on public transportation.

In addition, the chief executive officers from American, Delta, Southwest, United and other airlines sent a letter to President Biden last month asking them to lift COVID-era transportation mandates.

The Travel Health Notice system for international destinations will be overhauled after the CDC announced the extension of the mask mandate. The new system will reserve Level 4 travel health notices for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern or healthcare infrastructure collapse.

The system will go into effect on April 18 and levels 3, 2, and 1 will be determined by 28-day incidence or case counts. Travelers will have an alert when they should not travel to a certain destination.