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The Biden administration wants to bring mask mandates BACK to flights, months after the president insisted the pandemic was over
- Biden’s DOJ argued in court Tuesday to reinstate mask mandates for air travel
- It comes after almost a year without the requirements for domestic travel
- A Florida judge ruled in April to lift the federal mandates
- Biden also stated in a September interview that the COVID-19 pandemic is ‘over’
The Joe Biden administration is still fighting to reinstate a federal mask mandate for air travel, even after the president declared in September that the COVID-19 pandemic was “over” and airlines already removed their mandates in April.
It’s been almost a year since airline passengers have been required to wear masks when flying.
However, the Justice Department is seeking to re-implement the injunctions and is arguing the case before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The fight to require face coverings on flights is not popular with travel industry groups. Airlines have also faced several in-flight issues during the pandemic with passengers refusing to wear face coverings, and carriers cannot afford any more controversy at this time after a series of issues led to massive delays and cancellations during and after the season. christmas.
President Joe Biden’s Justice Department is fighting in court Tuesday to reinstate the mask mandate for domestic air travel.
Passengers they choose are still welcome, and sometimes even encouraged to wear masks on flights.
Republican lawmakers were quick to point this out.
“If you want to wear a mask on a plane, no one will stop you,” Florida Rep. Brian Mast tweeted Tuesday. ‘But we are not going back to mandates. Period.’
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn posted: ‘Joe Biden has said the pandemic is over. However, his administration is still arguing in court to reinstate the mask mandate.
A federal judge in Florida struck down Biden’s federal mask mandate on April 18, 2022. The ruling almost immediately led to all major US airlines lifting their mask requirements for domestic flights.
Passengers celebrated when the airline’s mask mandate was lifted in April following a ruling by a judge in Florida
But the new court challenge could threaten to undo that nearly six months after Biden declared the pandemic over.
“The pandemic is over,” Biden said during a 60 Minutes interview in September. ‘We still have a problem with COVID. We are still working hard on it.
For such an important statement by the US President, it was said flippantly and casually.
While walking through the Detroit Auto Show for his pre-recorded CBS interview, Biden said: “If you notice, nobody wears a mask, everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.”
Biden said in a September interview with 60 Minutes that the COVID-19 pandemic is ‘over’
Despite this statement and others hailing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, the president quietly extended the national emergency declaration last week through April.
“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring the use of face coverings in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority that Congress has granted to CDC to protect public health,” said the Department of Justice (DOJ). in a statement at the time of the April report. decision.
“That is an important authority that the Department will continue to work to preserve,” the statement added.