HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Amid a surge successful coronavirus cases fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, a disguise mandate for travelers and employees connected U.S. hose flights and nationalist proscription volition beryllium extended until Jan. 18, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said Tuesday.
Airline manufacture representatives person been briefed astir the hold and the TSA planned to sermon it with unions connected Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
The disguise bid was archetypal issued by the Biden medication connected Jan. 29 and is based connected U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 pandemic guidelines. It was acceptable to expire connected Sept. 13.
The hold volition beryllium strictly enforced by U.S. airlines, according to the manufacture commercialized group, Airlines for America, and the U.S. Travel Association said the determination "has the question industry's afloat support," the AP reported.
The nation's largest formation attendants national said the hold volition assistance support passengers and aviation workers safe.
"We person a work successful aviation to support everyone harmless and bash our portion to extremity the pandemic, alternatively than assistance the continuation of it," said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. "We each look guardant to the time masks are nary longer required, but we're not determination yet."
An adept said the TSA's determination volition reassure radical who are acrophobic astir the surging fig of COVID-19 cases successful the United States, which person accrued 64% from 2 weeks agone and are astatine the highest levels successful much than six months, the AP reported.
"I expect it volition marque them consciousness much assured astir traveling done the autumn and winter, including the vacation season," Henry Harteveldt, a travel-industry expert with Atmosphere Research Group, told the AP.
"Those who don't instrumentality the microorganism earnestly volition astir apt kick -- but they person nary prime but to suck it up and deterioration their masks if they privation to instrumentality an hose formation somewhere," Harteveldt added.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that airlines person reported 3,889 incidents involving unruly passengers this year, and 74% of those incidents progressive refusing to deterioration a mask.
More information
Visit the TSA for much connected travel and COVID-19.
SOURCE: Associated Press
English (US) ·