Delta says it will allow people who refused to obey mask rules to get off its no-fly list.

Delta Air Lines said on Wednesday that it would allow people who were placed on its no-fly list for refusing to wear masks to fly with the company again. Since the federal mask mandate was struck down by a judge on Monday, airlines have changed their positions on masks.

Delta will restore flight privileges for customers on the mask noncompliance no-fly list if masks are optional. The reprieve won't be automatic, only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior.

Delta would not allow back on flights customers who were more serious than just refusing to wear a mask.

Customers who are already on the permanent no-fly list are still barred from flying with Delta.

The company wouldn't say how many passengers the new policy would apply to.

Delta has been pushing for the removal of the mask mandate and has called for the strictest penalties for passengers who refuse to comply with rules in the sky. Ed Bastian, the airline's chief executive, began pushing to create a combined national no-fly list of unruly passengers who disrupted flights on any airline. The effort did not get far, in part because of legal concerns, but it generated debate about the best way to crack down on passengers who are contributing to a surge in terrible in-flight behavior.

Delta put nearly 1,900 people on its no-fly list for refusing to comply with mask requirements. More than 900 passengers were referred to the Transportation Security Administration for civil penalties for bad behavior, but it was not clear how many of these incidents involved masks. The FAA began over 1,100 investigations into unruly passengers last year, more than in the previous seven years combined, with many of the incidents involving tensions over masks.

Flight attendants are hoping that the mask requirement will be dropped. If the mask mandate were to be restored, they were worried that tensions would grow much worse.

There have been several abrupt reversals over masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the federal mandate for public transportation, including air travel, for two more weeks. A federal judge in Florida struck it down. All major U.S. airlines made masks optional for passengers and employees on domestic flights within 24 hours. On Thursday night, the C.D.C. said it would ask the Department of Justice to appeal the judge's ruling and that masks were still needed. It is not clear when or how the appeal will play out.