Confusion has followed a ruling by a federal judge in Florida who this week struck down President Joe Biden’s national mask mandate covering airplanes, airports and other public transportation, with the ruling appeared to free operators to make their own decisions about mask requirements, reports The Guardian.
Several airlines have since announced that they would drop mandates, but other transport networks, including the New York City subway, planning to keep them in place.
The mandate was overturned on Monday (18 April) by US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, who judged the rule as exceeding the authority of health officials pandemic. She added that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rule-making procedures.
In her 59-page ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy was to vacate the rule entirely because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group who objected to it in the lawsuit. She added that the courts had full authority to make a decision such as this – even if the goals of the CDC in fighting the virus were laudable. The White House later said the ruling meant that, for now, the mask order “is not in effect” and would not be enforced by the Transportation Security Administration.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it was “obviously a disappointing decision” and that the CDC “continues recommending wearing a mask on public transit”.
In New York, meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority communications director, Tim Minton, said: “We are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will review the Florida court order.”
The Association of Flight Attendants, the nation’s largest union of cabin crews, has recently taken a neutral position on the mask rule because its members are divided about the issue.
The Guardian article – US judge strikes down Biden mask mandate for planes and trains (Open access)
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