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Air Travel

Masks still required on planes, trains and buses for at least one more month as TSA extends mask mandate

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly says his airline will not be lobbying for another mask mandate extension.

Mask mandates are being lifted across the country but airlines and airports won't be added to the list for at least one more month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Transportation Security Administration's mask mandate, which requires travelers to mask up on airplanes, trains, buses and in airports and train stations, will be extended through April 18. This is the fourth extension since the mandate was announced in January, 2021 and covers the busy spring break travel season.

"(Through April 18), CDC will work with government agencies to help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor," the agency said in a statement Thursday. "This revised framework will be based on the COVID-19 community levels, risk of new variants, national data, and the latest science. We will communicate any updates publicly if and/or when they change."

A masked passenger boarding a plane.

The new date will push the length of time U.S. airline passengers have had to wear a mask near the two year mark. JetBlue Airways was the first carrier to impose a mask requirement, in early May 2020, and was quickly followed by competitors.

Airlines, unions and consumer advocates pushed the federal government for months to mandate the policy so flight attendants had backing when encountering passenger resistance but found no support from President Donald Trump's administration.

While welcomed by the industry and unions, the mask mandate has not put an end to inflight resistance by some passengers, with frequent high-profile incidents causing flights to be delayed and diverted and passengers to be escorted off planes. 

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Still, those incidents are minor compared to more serious cases of unruly passenger behavior, including assaults. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has repeatedly called for a centralized list of passengers who may not fly for a period of time after being fined or convicted of a serious incident and Delta CEO Ed Bastian made a similar call last month.

"This is not about 'masks,' and the worst attacks have nothing to do with masks,'' AFA president Sara Nelson said in a statement in February. "You're either for protecting crew and passengers from these attacks or you're against. We need clear and consistent rules with strict consequences for those who cannot respect our collective efforts to keep everyone safe - in the air and on the ground. We urge the FAA, TSA, and DOJ to come together to implement a plan with due process to keep dangerous flyers on the ground."

Airline mask requirement timeline

April 2020: United, Frontier add mask requirement for flight attendants and others soon follow.

May 2020: JetBlue Airways becomes first U.S. airline to require masks for passengers, a policy quickly matched by other airlines.

Jan. 2021: President Joe Biden announces federal mask mandate for travel with an initial expiration date of May 11. Airlines, unions and consumer advocates had called for a mandate since the early months of the coronavirus pandemic but found no support from President Donald Trump's administration.

April 2021: Mandate is extended through Sept. 13. 

August 2021: Mandate is extended through Jan. 18 due to the Delta variant.

Dec 2021: Mandate is extended through March 18 due to the omicron variant.

March 2022: Mandate is extended through April 18.

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