Airline CEOs ask President Biden to lift the rule : NPR

The CEOs of the main U.S. airways have known as on President Biden to finish the federal masks mandate for public transportation. Right here, a traveler works on a laptop computer pc at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Dec. 3.

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A bunch of CEOs from all main airways within the U.S. is looking on President Biden to drop the federal transportation masks mandate together with the worldwide pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirement.

In an open letter launched by the travel-industry lobbying group Airways for America, the group is looking on the Biden administration to “sundown federal transportation journey restrictions.” The group argues that the restrictions not mirror the “realities of the present epidemiological setting.”

The letter was signed by the leaders of 10 U.S. corporations, together with six of the most important airways within the nation: Alaska Airways, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United.

“It is not sensible that individuals are nonetheless required to put on masks on airplanes, but are allowed to congregate in crowded eating places, faculties and at sporting occasions with out masks, regardless of none of those venues having the protecting air filtration system that plane do,” the letter stated.

The group argues that the rise in vaccinations nationwide and the lifting of restrictions in different international locations are causes the Biden administration ought to rethink its COVID insurance policies for vacationers.

“We’re inspired by the present information and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions from coast to coast, which point out it’s previous time to get rid of COVID-era transportation insurance policies,” the group stated.

The CEOs emphasised that, whereas they’ve supported and cooperated with the federal authorities’s COVID insurance policies, together with masking and pre-departure testing, implementing these guidelines has fallen to airline workers for the previous two years.

“This isn’t a operate they’re educated to carry out and topics them to day by day challenges by pissed off prospects. This, in flip, takes a toll on their very own well-being,” in response to Airways for America.

Thus far, the White Home has not but commented on the group’s request.

The mandate for masks use on public transportation and in transportation hubs had been set to run out on March 18, however earlier this month the Transportation Safety Administration prolonged the coverage by April 18.