Passengers, airliners glad to see end in sight for mask mandate
A national transportation mask mandate for airlines is set to conclude in the coming days, as companies and passengers hope for a return to normalcy.
After months of comments and requests urging officials to loosen requirements, the White House moved the end of the transportation mask mandate to April 18.
In March, the CEOs of 10 airlines and cargo carriers signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking for a end to the mandate and testing requirements for international travelers. Executives with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air Worldwide, Delta Air Lines, FedEx Express, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and UPS Airlines all signed the letter.
During a Senate committee hearing in December, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly mentioned that high grade HEPA air filters on planes capture virtually all airborne contamination and air quality is helped by how frequently cabin air is exchange with fresh air from outside the cabin.
In central North Carolina, nearly all school districts have loosened mask requirements, with Durham Public Schools being the last in the area to make their mask policy optional. Masks on planes are currently required by the federal government, following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control.
Hundreds of passengers reportedly interrupted flights during the first six weeks of 2022, most of them over COVID-19 and mask requirements.
Major airlines are coming off a rocky stretch from a recent weekend where severe weather, technical difficulties and labor problems left many passengers stranded.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is on record as saying that BA.2, a subvariant of omicron, does not appear to cause more severe COVID-19 symptoms, but it is more transmissible than the original strain.
According to NBC News, U.S. cases appear to have plateaued over the past two weeks, with a consistent average of around 30,000 cases per day. However, medical experts said fewer people are getting tested, which is leading to underreporting. Data shows the country went from testing two million people a day to 530,000.
"I would not be surprised if we see an uptick in cases," said White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci. "I hope and I believe that there's reason this will not happen is that we will not get a very large increase proportionality in hospitalizations because of the background immunity."
