US airlines seek end to Covid mask rule despite passenger anxiety

Airline executives and politicians are piling on pressure for the US to let Covid-19 mask rules expire on schedule next week, even as a majority of the public wants to keep them.

Forced mask wearing has caused friction in aircraft cabins. Last year, 72 per cent of a record 5,981 reports of unruly passengers were mask-related, according to the Federal Aviation Administration which proposed a total of $5 million (€4.6 million) in fines for such behaviour.

A diverse group of advocates wants to see the mask requirement disappear as it has within other indoor spaces. Next Monday the federal government’s order for travellers on public transport is set to lapse unless officials issue another extension.

Domestic airlines have led the call to end the mandate, with chief executives of seven carriers, including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, telling US president Joe Biden in a letter last month that it was "no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment".

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“It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on aeroplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools and at sporting events without masks,” especially when considering the quality of on-board air-filtration systems, the executives wrote.

The executives stressed that airline employees were enduring the “burden” of enforcing the mask mandate and international pre-departure testing – another requirement they want eliminated – as conflicts with unruly passengers persist.

At Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, the union representing flight attendants also supports lifting the mask rule, noting that getting people to obey is "one of the most difficult jobs we have ever faced".

However, the US’s largest cabin crew union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, has opted not to take a position.

Recent public opinion surveys indicated that many Americans want to keep aviation mask mandates in place, however. The Harris Poll found that 60 per cent of people surveyed at the beginning of April supported keeping the mandate.

Yet public support for the mask rule is falling: in another survey, Morning Consult also found 60 per cent support it, but that was down 11 points since January.

There are also differences in opinion that track people’s political affiliation, one of the hallmarks of the US response to the coronavirus crisis since the pandemic began over two years ago.

Among Democrats, 70 per cent favour the aircraft mask requirement, while only 50 per cent of Republicans do so, according to the Harris Poll.

Ashish Jha, the White House’s new chief Covid-19 adviser, told NBC-TV’s Today Show on Monday that extending the mandate was “absolutely on the table”, adding that the decision rested with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022