U.S. CDC says travelers should wear masks inside airplanes

U.S. CDC says travelers should wear masks inside airplanes. 

WASHINGTON– Despite a judge’s April 18 judgment declaring the 14-month-old transportation mask mandate unconstitutional, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended travelers continue to wear masks in aircraft, trains, and airports on Tuesday.

The CDC stated that their recommendation was based on current COVID-19 circumstances and spread and the masks’ preventive value.

The Justice Department announced last month that it will appeal the verdict, with a deadline of May 31 to do so. On the other hand, the government has made no attempt to seek quick legal action to restore the mandate.

Unless the CDC obtained an extension of a Transportation Security Administration regulation, the mask mandate expired on Tuesday just before midnight.

“As a consequence of a court order, the mask order is no longer in place and is not being implemented,” a CDC spokesman stated.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg raised doubt on the administration’s desire to reinstate the mask mandate during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

“The appeal is about whether the CDC has the jurisdiction to (demand masks) in this pandemic or any pandemic,” Buttigieg explained.

Buttigieg said he agreed that the requirement should have been allowed to expire based on the circumstances on April 13, when it was extended for 15 days, but it was a CDC decision.

The Biden administration announced hours after the April 18 verdict that it would no longer enforce the mask regulation, prompting airlines to let passengers remove their masks mid-flight. 

As a result, passengers say that on some flights, only 10% or fewer passengers are using masks.