Are face masks needed on airplanes?
The federal transportation face mask mandate is over. A federal judge in Florida struck it down last week, citing an overreach of statutory authority by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a violation of administrative law. All the major airlines quickly responded by dropping the mandate on their flights, leaving passengers to fend for themselves on whether to wear a face mask when traveling by air. While the ruling is being appealed by the Department of Justice, the White House encourages people to continue to wear face masks when traveling. The ruling also ended the face mask mandate on trains (like Amtrak) and public transportation, impacting millions of people each day.