Mask mandate for travelers no longer in effect

Airline passengers walk to their flights in the airport terminal in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday, April 19.

At least for now, and maybe forever, US travelers will not be required to wear masks on airplanes thanks to a court ruling Monday that said the Biden administration’s Covid-19 transportation policy was unlawful.

The ruling, issued by the Tampa-based US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, impacted not only air travel, but other modes of transportation, including trains and some public buses and metro rail. In the immediate aftermath, it injected confusion and uncertainty into travel requirements.

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will appeal the ruling if the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines the mandate is still necessary to protect public health.

Here’s what to know about the ruling and what happens next:

Why did the judge strike down the mandate? Mizelle, who was appointed by former President Trump, had two main reasons for invalidating the regulation, which was rolled out by the CDC in early 2021. She said that the agency exceeded the authority given to it by Congress, and that – in how it rolled out the mandate – that it violated an administrative law that dictates the process executive branch agencies must go through in policy-making.

On the latter point, Mizelle’s ruling was one of several rulings where the administrative law, the Administrative Procedure Act, has been used to block executive branch policies of administrations of both parties. Biden initiatives on immigration have also been struck down for violating the APA, as have Trump era immigration policies. The law was also cited in striking down Trump-era changes to the 2020 Census, for instance.

Mizelle said that the mask mandate violated the APA because the administration didn’t have an adequate excuse for forgoing public notice and comment on the rule, and because the CDC did not offer enough of an explanation for why it was implementing the requirement.

Her ruling on the CDC’s statutory authority dug into the meaning of the word “sanitation” in the relevant section of the 1944 law giving the executive branch the authority to issue regulations that address communicable diseases.

The practical applications of the ruling: Hours after the ruling came down, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – which was tasked with carrying out CDC’s rule in airports and in other contexts – said it was no longer enforcing the directive because of the ruling. That put the ball in the court of the airlines, who could have chosen to keep the mask mandates in place on their planes. But so far, every major airline that has weighed in on what they’d do going forward has said that masking is now optional for passengers and flight crew on domestic flights.

But it’s worth noting that the CDC’s mandate applied to far more than just air travel. And the picture has been more patchwork for the modes of ground transportation where the requirement had also been in effect. Some local jurisdictions, like New York and Chicago, said that they would be keeping the mask mandate in place for public buses and subways. Other localities, including DC and Minneapolis, lifted the requirement for their public transportation methods. Amtrak also dropped the requirement.

If the ruling is appealed and overturned by a higher court, then the Biden administration would have the ability to reinstate it. Notably, before Mizelle’s ruling, the mandate had only been extended through May 3 and the administration was still considering whether to extend it further.

President Biden, asked by reporters Tuesday if people should still wear masks on planes, said, “That’s up to them.”

The legal ramifications: If the judge had just struck down the the policy on APA grounds, the administration could theoretically take another stab at the policy and roll it out in a way that cured the procedural defects identified by the judge. But her ruling on the CDC’s authority hamstrings the administration’s ability to revive the mandate in a way that goes beyond just fixing the procedural issues with the requirement.

Her ruling said that any regulation aimed at “keeping things clean” – instead of at actively cleaning something – would be out of bounds of the relevant provision of current law. Only a higher court could overturn or narrow her ruling as it pertains to the CDC’s mask mandate

As a district judge, however, her ruling does not carry precedential weight. That means other courts across the country would not be obligated to follow her reasoning in how they handled future lawsuits challenging similar types of regulations.

If the 11th Circuit – which oversees appellate challenges from Florida – upheld her ruling, it would be precedent for all the other federal courts in that circuit, which covers the Southeast. A Supreme Court ruling upholding her conclusions about CDC’s authority would make them binding nationwide.

What happens next? The Justice Department on Tuesday made a potential appeal contingent on a CDC review.

“The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health,” spokesperson Anthony Coley said in a statement.

“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve,” Coley said.

The CDC was set to assess whether the mandate was still needed until May 3, and Coley said any appeal would come after that date.

“If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court’s decision,” Coley said.

If an appeal happens, it would be a risky move that could limit the government’s ability to make similar mandates in the future. If the 11th Circuit – which oversees appellate challenges from Florida – upholds the ruling striking down the mandate, it would be precedent for all the other federal courts in that circuit, which covers the Southeast. A Supreme Court ruling upholding the decision to strike down the mandate would make the judge’s conclusions about CDC authority binding nationwide.

Read more about the ruling here.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday evening that it’s still weighing whether its transportation mask mandate is needed to protect public health.

The Justice Department said earlier Tuesday that it will appeal a Monday court ruling that struck down the federal government’s mask mandate for travelers if the CDC determines that such a requirement is necessary to protect public health.

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will appeal a Monday court ruling that struck down the federal government’s mask mandate for travelers if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines such a requirement is still necessary to protect public health.

“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve,” Coley said.

Earlier Tuesday, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said there would probably be an appeal to the court decision overturning the mask mandate for public transportation.

“We are right now in the process of deciding, and we likely will appeal that ruling. Stay tuned,” Becerra said.

Airline passengers walk to flights in the airport terminal in Denver, Colorado on April 19.

There will probably be an appeal of Monday’s court decision overturning the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transportation, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Tuesday.

“We are right now in the process of deciding, and we likely will appeal that ruling. Stay tuned,” Becerra said.

Airline passengers walk through San Francisco International Airport on April 19.

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials’ chief medical officer tells CNN that travel mask mandates should continue — at least for a little longer until the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more data on the spread of the BA.2 subvariant.

On Monday, a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s nationwide mask mandate for airplanes and other public transportation, and the mandate is no longer in effect while the ruling is reviewed. Last week, the CDC extended this mask mandate through May 3. 

“We think that mask-wearing on interstate transportation is still an important intervention that’s worth continuing,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

Plescia added, “The biggest concern is, we want people to be safe and we’re concerned that we’re not through the pandemic yet as much as people want to be, and (Covid-19) rates are starting to tick back up.”

The White House is once again playing catch-up on how to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic after a court ruling struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate on planes, trains and other forms of public transportation.

The evolving situation was on display Tuesday as passengers on President Biden’s trip aboard Air Force One to New Hampshire were required to wear masks while, at the same time, commercial airline passengers across the United States were stepping into plane cabins with the option to forgo a mask.

A White House aide said ahead of Biden’s flight to New Hampshire that masking would be required “in line with” guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The President boarded the aircraft Tuesday afternoon sporting a black mask. 

Administration officials had been caught by surprise when the judge in Florida struck down the requirement, which had been in place for 441 days.

Suddenly, a decision administration officials had been contemplating for weeks — whether American travelers must wear masks — was made urgent and complicated by US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was selected by Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.

The order was parsed by lawyers at the White House, Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency that had been responsible for enforcing the rules. As they digested the 59-page ruling, it wasn’t clear whether passengers sitting in airports or aboard airplanes at 30,000 feet could remove their face coverings without running afoul of federal rules.

Airlines, which had been lobbying the administration for weeks to lift the mandates, sought guidance from the government on what exactly they should tell crews and passengers, whose phones were lighting up with news of the ruling.

Read more:

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on April 19, 2022. - Biden is heading to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Masks still required on Air Force One as White House figures out how to respond to ruling striking down mandate

The White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “should have been given” an additional 15 days to study masking on airlines before lifting a federal mandate.

A federal judge in Florida struck down on Monday the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods, and a Biden administration official says the order is no longer in effect while the ruling is reviewed.

“24 hours ago, a federal judge vacated @CDCgov mask mandate on airplanes,” Jha wrote on Twitter.

“We should have given it to them,” he concluded. “But I’ll continue to follow CDC guidance & mask up on planes.”

The White House said earlier Tuesday that the Justice Department was still reviewing a federal judge’s decision to strike down the mask mandate on transportation. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted the “CDC continues to advise and recommend masks on airplanes. We’re abiding by the CDC recommendations, the President is, and we would advise all Americans to do that.”

Later, President Biden said it was up to each American to decide whether to wear a mask on a plane.

See the tweet:

President Joe Biden wears a mask as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday.

Upon arriving to New Hampshire, President Biden answered two questions about a Monday ruling overturning his administration’s mask mandate on mass transit.

Pressed on if people should still wear masks on planes, Biden told reporters, “That’s up to them.”

Asked in New Hampshire if he wants the Department of Justice to appeal the new mask ruling, Biden said, “I haven’t spoken to the CDC yet.”

And when later pressed on the trip about whether there would be an appeal, Biden repeated, “I haven’t gotten any brief from my CDC. I don’t know. We’re following the science.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn’t say if the Department of Justice plans to challenge a federal judge’s ruling overturning the mask mandate for mass transportation Tuesday, instead telling reporters the administration is “reviewing next steps.” 

“I don’t think they’ve made any announcement at this point in time, so, as we’ve said, agencies are reviewing next steps, including the Department of Justice, traditionally following court decisions, that can take a couple of days,” Psaki told reporters traveling with the President to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on board Air Force One.

“And just as a reminder, when we made this announcement, the CDC said it needed 15 days to assess the impacts of an uptick in cases, in hospitalizations, deaths, and hospital capacity. We feel—still feel—that is entirely reasonable and public health decisions shouldn’t be made by the courts, they should be made by public health experts,” she continued.

Psaki added that it “typically takes a couple of days,” for the DOJ to review and file a motion to appeal a judge’s ruling, but that the administration was “confident in our authorities,” to impose the federal mask mandate in the first place.

She said the DOJ “haven’t made that decision [to appeal] yet, and it takes a couple days, some time to make that assessment.”

Psaki dismissed charges that the judge’s ruling Monday led to confusion in enforcement.

Mass transit riders wear masks as they commute thru the Oculus in Manhattan on Tuesday.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced adjusted mask guidance following the federal ruling, keeping masks in New York facilities but lifting the mandate in New Jersey facilities, in line with state guidelines.

In New York at airports run by the Port Authority, including LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, as well as various bus stations and the World Trade Center Oculus transportation hub, mask mandates remain in effect, a statement from the agency said. 

According to the statement, the mandate remains in effects at the following locations: 

At New Jersey airports run by the Port Authority, including Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airport, the mask mandate has been lifted, the statement said.

The mask mandate remains in effect for the PATH system that runs through both states, including stations and platforms, with the exception of open-air platforms.

Dave Studinski was on a Delta flight Monday evening from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City to San Francisco International Airport when a crew member announced that masks will be optional for crew members and passengers.

During the announcement, the crew member also said “it is a cause to celebrate, but for those who want to wear masks, please feel free to, but it is optional.” 

Studinski told CNN the following about his reaction:

In a separate tweet, Studinski said, “On this day last year, I was isolating because of a breakthrough COVID-19 infection. It was a little more than a month after my J&J poke. Symptoms were quite mild - I was fortunate. The vaccines work.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will not enforce a travel mask order, but it will continue to recommend masks on public transportation.

CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund on Tuesday issued the following statement to CNN after a federal judge in Florida ruled that the agency’s order requiring masks on public transportation was unlawful:

Delta Airlines jets are seen behind travelers passing through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on April 11.

The White House is pushing back on Delta Air Lines after the company referred to Covid-19 as an “ordinary seasonal virus” in its post announcing that masks are optional on its flights.

The original post read: “We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel and COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus.”

A White House spokesperson for Covid issues, Kevin Munoz, replied “COVID is not an “ordinary seasonal virus” and linked to Biden’s 100-page Covid preparedness plan.

As of 10 a.m. ET this morning, Delta has removed the reference to “ordinary seasonal virus” and replaced it with this sentence: “We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 transitions to a more manageable respiratory virus – with better treatments, vaccines and other scientific measures to prevent serious illness.”

On Monday evening, the Biden administration said the mask mandate was no longer in effect after a judge voided it, though noted the CDC still recommends wearing masks on planes.

Lyft is suspending mask requirements for US drivers and riders, the ride-hailing company said Tuesday.

In addition, Lyft passengers will again be allowed to sit in the front seats of vehicles.

The changes come one day after a federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods. And it follows in the footsteps of Uber, which has also moved to lift mask requirements on its platform. 

Masks may still be required by law in some jurisdictions, Lyft added.

Travelers check in at the Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday.

Air passengers in the US have been removing their Covid-19 face coverings after a federal judge ruled that the government’s mask mandate on commercial planes was unlawful.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously insisted mask rules remain in place until May 3, but the judge in Florida struck down that directive on Monday.

Airlines have already begun relaxing mask requirements but not without some initial confusion.

Some more context: Mask requirements for US travelers were initially enforced by major airlines in the spring of 2020, before being federally mandated in February 2021 for airplanes and other public transport methods.

If you’re thinking about flying soon, here’s what you need to know about the new rules on masks:

Read more about this here.

Travelers are seen at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday.

Nearly 2.3 million people passed through airport security checkpoints on Monday, the day a federal judge struck down the federal transportation mask mandate.   

The 2,288,902 travelers represent 88% of the nearly 2.6 million travelers the Transportation Security Administration screened on the equivalent day in 2019, prior to the pandemic.   

The agency has reported screening about 90% of 2019 levels this month, which includes the busy spring break travel period. 

New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority said it will be keeping its mask mandate on public transportation.

Additionally, Portland’s TriMet, Seattle’s King County Metro and the Chicago Transit Authority said they will keep their masking policies for now.

NJ Transit on Monday night said it would be keeping its mask mandate, but reversed course on Tuesday morning.

Straphangers and employees on the Washington, DC, Metro system will no longer be required to wear masks, the transit agency said in a statement. 

In Atlanta, city transit system MARTA will no longer require riders or employees to wear masks. SEPTA in Philadelphia and CapMetro in Austin, Texas, also announced they would lift their masking requirements but noted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends passengers wear masks.

Amtrak is also dropping its mask mandate.

CNN’s David Shortell contributed reporting to this post.

Face masks are now optional for Uber riders and drivers, the ride-hailing company said Tuesday.

Masks may still be required by law in some jurisdictions, Uber’s email said, and in those areas the local regulations will apply. 

Uber lifting its mask requirements follows a Florida federal judge’s decision to strike down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods.

Amtrak will no longer require face masks for passengers and employees following a court ruling Monday that struck down the federal transportation mask mandate.

According to Amtrak spokesperson Kimberly Woods:

After a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods, airlines are starting to act.

Several US airlines announced Monday that masks are now optional on their aircraft — Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Spirit and JetBlue.

Delta Air Lines said it is making masks optional, and warned travelers they “may experience inconsistent enforcement during the next 24 hours as this news is more broadly communicated.”

United Airlines said in a statement that “masks are no longer required at United on domestic flights, select international flights (dependent upon the arrival country’s mask requirements) or at U.S. airports.”

Alaska Airlines similarly said face masks are now optional and asked for passengers to be considerate.

“While we are glad this means many of us get to see your smiling faces, we understand some might have mixed feelings,” the airline posted on its website. “Please remember to be kind to one another and that wearing a mask while traveling is still an option.”

Read more here:

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 30: United Airlines planes sit on the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport on November 30, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. The United States, and a growing list of other countries, has restricted flights from southern African countries due to the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant last week in South Africa. Stocks in the travel and airline industry have fallen in recent days as fears grow over the spread and severity of the variant. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Related article These airlines are making masks optional after mandate struck down