masks

Tag Archives for masks.

Federal Air Travel Mask Mandate Extended One Month

by Gary Leff

Mar 10 2022

The Biden administration wasn’t quite ready to let the federal transportation mask mandate lapse, out of fear they’d look stupid if Covid-19 cases surged again. But they know the mandate is on its last legs. Every state is eliminating its indoor mask mandates (or has already done so). Even if cloth masks were effective against the Omicron variant, this mandate would do very little on its own.

The federal mask mandate for commercial airlines, airports, trains and buses was set to end March 18. It will be extended through April 18. That one month extension, announced a mere 8 days before the rule would have lapsed, is the shortest extension yet. And, barring unforeseen events, is likely to be the last.

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With Only 9 Days Left For The Federal Mask Mandate, Disarray Over Whether It’s Extended

by Gary Leff

Mar 09 2022

The fact that the transportation mask mandate is set to end in nine days and no decision about its future has been announced yet – or even leaked – tells me that the administration has had internal disagreement and uncertainty on what to do with it.

While I anticipated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine I didn’t anticipate that it could play into the decision over whether to extend the federal transportation mask mandate. But the decision is ultimately a political one, and current politics could move up when the mandate gets lifted – no longer having to wait until close to the midterms.

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Will The Federal Mask Mandate Be Lifted This Month (And Will American Airlines Bring Back Booze)?

by Gary Leff

Mar 03 2022

JetBlue is bringing back fresh food to its premium cabin, and bringing back liquor to its flights starting March 15. American Airlines already brought back food to domestic first class, but its coach cabin remains dry. The airline has said it won’t bring back alcohol until the federal mask mandate is lifted.

When Southwest Airlines starting serving drinks again last month, that seemed like it would mean more pressure on American than JetBlue’s move. After all, both airlines are Dallas-based and Southwest is the traditional largest airline in the U.S. domestic market.

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Police Body Cam Footage Of Passenger Removed From Delta Flight, Back At The Station Gets.. Interesting

by Gary Leff

Feb 26 2022

Police bodycam footage has been shared online of an officer removing a passenger from a Delta flight prior to departure over mask non-compliance.

Usually we see cell phone video from other passengers of someone being taken off the plane. Rarely do we see what happens before that – the discussion between officer and cabin crew – or after, when the passenger is back in the police vehicle or finally at the police station.

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President Biden’s Pollster To Democrats: Lift Mask Restrictions Or Risk Election

by Gary Leff

Feb 25 2022

I’ve written for a year that the decision on ‘returning to normal’ which includes sunsetting the transportation mask mandate requiring masks be worn in airports and on planes would be a political one. Specifically, the mandate would sunset before end of summer so that the President could declare victory over the pandemic before the midterm elections. Control of the House and Senate hang in the balance.

President Biden’s pollster’s firm now is giving Democrats this same advice.

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Flight Attendants Don’t Want A Mask Mandate Anymore, Either

by Gary Leff

Feb 25 2022

Flight attendants unions are pushing to extend the federal transportation mask mandate which is currently set to end March 18. But their members are far from all on board.

I’ve heard from several flight attendants, and watched discussions in social media, where they’re up in arms over their union leaders pushing for this requirement – because they’re tired of wearing masks on planes themselves.

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The Push Has Started To Extend Federal Mask Rules For Planes

by Gary Leff

Feb 21 2022

Sara Nelson, head of the AFA-CWA flight attendants union, is an influential labor leader with juice in the Democratic Party. While she was instrumental in securing bailouts for the airline industry, she doesn’t always get what she wants – Nelson was an advocate for a ban on leisure travel during the pandemic.

Nonetheless, Nelson’s AFA-CWA is pushing for an extension of the federal transportation mask mandate which currently runs through March 18. And she’s joined by the union representing cabin crew at American Airlines.

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74% Chance Air Travel Mask Mandate To End Before This Year’s Elections

by Gary Leff

Feb 15 2022

No matter what your position on continued masking on planes throughout the Omicron wave – that it no longer makes sense to extend the federal transportation mask mandate which currently runs through March 18, 2022.

Betting markets now give 3-1 odds that the mask mandate will be gone before the election. Prediction markets are frequently more reliable than expert commentary because well-informed observers put real money behind their arguments (it’s their revealed expectations, rather than cheap talk).

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The One Thing Stopping The Biden Administration From Lifting Air Travel Mask Mandate

by Gary Leff

Feb 04 2022

There’s a chance that restrictions get lifted but the Omicron wave turns out not to be the last gasp of the virus. That would make it thinkable that restrictions could make sense again. But the political calculus is that looks like the administration ‘made a mistake.’ And this administration’s fear of appearing to make an error is balancing out its need to declare victory. And that could delay lifting the transportation mask mandate.

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