Monday, December 23, 2024

US Senate passes resolution, ends airline mask rule

President Joe Biden is personally opposed to it and has threatened to use his veto power should the resolution succeed. In fact, earlier this month, President Biden extended the public transportation mask mandate until April 18

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

The United States Senate passed a resolution in the beginning of this week to repeal the public transportation federal travel mask mandate that dictated wearing a face mask in order to fly in the US. Republican Senator Rand Paul forced a vote on the resolution using the Congressional Review Act, scoring a win when it passed by 57 votes to 40. However, despite the Senate win, the resolution is unlikely to be backed by the Democrat-led House. President Joe Biden is personally opposed to it and has threatened to use his veto power should the resolution succeed. In fact, earlier this month, President Biden extended the public transportation mask mandate until April 18.

Airline trade group Airlines For America has strongly supported the mask mandate. However, it has recently has begun lobbying lawmakers to start planning for a relaxation of the rules. Among passengers, most comply with the mask rules

The public transportation mask mandate, which came into effect after President Biden entered office, has polarised the public, the airline industry, and the government. Despite highly effective HEPA filters in the air conditioning units of modern jets, airlines have erred towards the side of caution and supported the mask mandate. However, some airline CEOs have questioned the utility of the rule.

Airline trade group Airlines For America has strongly supported the mask mandate. However, it has recently has begun lobbying lawmakers to start planning for a relaxation of the rules. Among passengers, most comply with the mask rules. At the same time, airlines have reported a surge in inflight incidents since the mandate began – most of those incidents relate to passengers refusing to wear or not wearing masks correctly.

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Tirthankar Ghosh
Tirthankar Ghosh
Tirthankar Ghosh is a senior journalist and presently Managing Editor, Newsline Publications. He has also been writing for well over 15 years for the New York-based Air Cargo News Flying Typers.

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