Bye-bye masks? US prepares for the end of crucial COVID-19 mandate

On April 18 2022, the federal requirement to wear a mask on public trains, planes, and taxis will expire. Originally slated to end in March, the TSA extension comes as a CDC recommendation according to a recent story in Reuters. Airline and government officials – and experienced travellers too – all believe this could be the last extension of the requirement and are preparing for the lifting of the mandate.

MASK RULES CAUSED HASSLES FOR INDUSTRY

The US mask mandate on planes has led to staggering figures of unruly passenger incidents in 2021. The FAA says there have been a record 6 800 unruly passenger incidents reported with 70% of those incidents involving passengers disobeying masking rules. Now with the end of the mask mandate on public transit so seemingly within touching distance, what will the experience be like for US travellers?

Joanne Magley, Director of Air Service, Marketing & Customer Experience at the Daytona Beach International Airport in Florida, spoke to I Love South Africa and reflected on the past year and the expected changes as of April:

“In broad terms, the mask mandate allowed people to safely travel by air during a pandemic, especially during times of higher community transmission. Instances of non-compliance with mask mandates have been low at Daytona Beach international airport. In the few instances where people were not wearing masks, we politely reminded them there is a mandate in affect and if they need a mask we are happy to provide them with a Daytona Beach international airport branded mask.”

We are happy to still have these masks available for passengers who want them in the future as well as keeping our other health and safety enhancements going, including extra hand sanitizing stations and plexiglass shields at the customer service counters.We are a smaller, airport with very local passengers, who were happy their local airport maintained service during the pandemic. We don’t believe there will be pushback from those who prefer to wear masks, and those individuals will still be welcome to do so. Most public places do not require masks and those who prefer to wear masks are used to that environment.”

MOVING TOWARDS AN ‘OLD’ NORMAL

Is travel expected to pick up within the US as the mask mandate is dropped? Joanne is unsure it will affect internal local travel:

“Air traffic at Daytona Beach international airport had resumed to near pre-pandemic levels during the summer of 2021, with mask mandates in affect. Levels now are about 10% below pre-pandemic levels, so passenger numbers have been going up despite mask mandates.”

It will be interesting to see what travel looks like – for local and international visitors alike – in a post masking world.

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