Giants Of The Airline Industry Take United Front On Mask Mandates
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Some giants of the airline industry formed a united front on Wednesday and called on President Joe Biden to end federal requirements for mask mandates on airplanes.
The 10 CEOs made their position clear in a signed letter. The letter to Biden urged him to end pre-departure COVID testing rules and the onboard mask mandate.
#NEWS: CEOs of passenger airlines (@SouthwestAir @Delta @JetBlue) & cargo airlines (@FedEx) write to @POTUS asking him to life mask mandate on planes + COVID preflight testing requirements…how passengers at @BWI_Airport feeling about it coming up @wjz https://t.co/qUOHls3MHI pic.twitter.com/Rtr0APe5o6
— Annie Rose Ramos (@AnnieRoseNews) March 24, 2022
And some travelers agree with them.
"It's very hard to breathe in these masks," said Crystal Price who was traveling from Texas on Wednesday.
"I think they need to go, we take them off anyway when we're eating and drinking, so I believe they should go," Price said.
But not everyone agrees among the passengers at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport on Wednesday.
"We're still in the middle of the pandemic, I feel like it's in the best interest to protect other people and still wear them," a woman who went by the name of Nicole said while traveling from Atlanta.
The 10 CEOs from passenger airlines including Southwest, Delta, and JetBlue along with cargo airlines like Fed-Ex and Atlas Air, requested this action for their travelers but also their employees who must enforce these quote, "now outdated regulations," according to the letter.
Nicole said during her flight from Atlanta to Baltimore flight attendants had to remind a couple of people to put their masks back on.
This letter comes as concerns about another spike in COVID-19 cases could be around the corner as officials closely watch the spread of the new variant BA.2.
"You can be almost certain that you are going to see an uptick . . . the real question is what extent of an uptick is it going to be, and we'll just have to wait and see," Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN Tuesday.
The federal mask mandate on planes also extends to all travel hubs, including BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, based on the CDC recommendations. The mandate was extended through April 18.