After a federal judge in Florida struck down a nationwide mask mandate on public transportation and transit hubs, including planes, trains, buses, and airports on Tuesday, most major U.S. airlines announced they would end the mask requirement on flights, a policy carriers have had in place for nearly two years.
Following an announcement by the White House ending the order, the Transportation Security Administration made a statement that it would no longer enforce the mandate. The agency also made note of the current recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.”
U.S. carriers including Delta, United, Jetblue, American Airlines, Southwest, and Frontier then issued their own statements dropping the mask requirement; most carriers reiterated the fact that passengers are still free to wear one if they wish. “We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 transitions to a more manageable respiratory virus—with better treatments, vaccines and other scientific measures to prevent serious illness,” Delta said in its statement, which was revised from a previous version that described COVID-19 as an “ordinary seasonal virus.”
JetBlue also reminded customers and crew members who are traveling internationally to have a mask in case they’re required to wear one at their destination, while Southwest emphasized its “sophisticated cabin air ventilation systems” equipped with HEPA air filtration that it claims removes at least 99.97% of airborne particles. In its statement, Alaska Airlines encouraged passengers to “treat each other with kindness and respect” during their travels.
There's a chance the federal mandate might return, however, depending on a possible White House appeal of the judge’s decision and based on input from the CDC, according to the Associated Press. A timeline on such a development isn’t clear, but it does potentially set the stage for further confusion and chaos in an industry that for two years has faced huge spikes in unruly passenger incidents, many of which stemmed from backlash against the mask policy.
For now, the current no-mask requirement has received sharply divided reactions. Some travelers and industry organizations applauded the news, with passengers posting photos and videos on social media with the hashtag #maskless.
Other passengers, including those who are immunocompromised and parents of children too young to be vaccinated, expressed frustration and anger. Brooke Tansley was among them. The Nashville-based television producer was about midway through a Delta flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles with her husband and two young children, aged four years and eight months—the family’s first flight since December 2019—when the pilot announced that passengers were no longer required to wear masks.
Tansley said about a third of the passengers on the “mostly full” flight immediately removed their masks and cheered. While Tansley said she understood their enthusiasm, she also felt blindsided by the timing of the announcement, noting that had she and her husband known about the policy before their flight, they would have opted to drive instead of fly.
“We did not have the opportunity to make what we felt was the best decision for our family—it was made for us, without consideration for the circumstances that others are in,” Tansley said in an interview, adding that her four-year-old wears a mask. Tansley shared her experience on Twitter, tagging Delta in a post that went viral, and said she’s unsure whether the family will fly or drive for their return trip to Nashville.
When Traveler asked Delta for a comment about how dropping its mask requirement affects passengers like Tansley who are traveling with young children, the airline sent a link to a page outlining its mask policy along with travel tips.
Other travelers shared similar frustrations about the mask-optional policy—as well as uncertainty about future trips. “When I bought my tickets for me, my wife (who is pregnant), and our unvaccinated 4-year-old, I assumed you would continue to have a mask mandate,” emergency room physician Jeremy Faust addressed United Airlines in a tweet. “Now you cancel it and we will have to board our return flight under your new no mask required policy?! Thanks so much.”
Meanwhile, fans of the new policy, including airline employees, took to social media to express their support. In another viral Twitter post, one flight attendant dramatically sings “throw away your masks” while walking through the aisle with a plastic bag (the airline this took place on has not been confirmed). According to another Tweet, an Alaska Airlines pilot described the new policy as “the most important announcement” they had ever made, telling passengers it was “over immediately, congratulations!” as cheers and applause broke out in the cabin.
Various industry organizations hailed the move, too. According to a statement from Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy of the U.S. Travel Association, the decision “effectively returns the choice of mask usage on planes and other forms of public transportation to travelers and travel industry workers, a further step toward endemic management of COVID.” The statement also encouraged the government to end requirements for COVID tests for inbound international travelers. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline trade group, tweeted that governments reconsidering mask mandates mark “a major step towards industry recovery and a return to normalcy.”
In light of the news, global airlines are weighing their own policies. According to the Wall Street Journal, Air France, Lufthansa, and Air Canada still require masks, while British Airways and KLM say it depends on the destination.
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