(Bloomberg) — The largest U.S. airlines urged President Joe Biden to immediately end federal restrictions on the use of masks on airplanes, along with mandatory vaccinations and testing for international passengers coming to the country.
“It is high time” to remove the restrictions, the lobbying group Airlines for America said Wednesday in a letter, citing the level of covid-19 infections in the US and the end of mask mandates in much of the country. The rule that establishes tests and vaccinations before a flight “creates a competitive disadvantage for US tourism,” carriers said.
The use of masks has been particularly controversial because it has been linked to an increase in the number of problematic passengers on flights. At the same time, it alleviated fears of infection and helped carriers recover after losing more than 95% of their passengers during the early days of the pandemic. The Administration recently extended the mandate of wearing masks on airplanes, trains and other transportation by 30 days, until April 18.
“We are requesting this action not only for the benefit of the traveling public, but also for the thousands of airline employees charged with enforcing a patchwork of now-obsolete regulations implemented in response to the covid-19 pandemic,” the group said.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents some 22,000 employees of American Airlines Group Inc., previously said it was not opposed to an extension of the mask rule, but was “waiting for the day when it was no longer needed.”
Original Note:
Airline CEOs Urge Biden to Drop Mask, Foreign-Traveler Mandates
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