The CEOs of America’s largest airline companies wrote a letter to Joe Biden on Wednesday petitioning him to remove the mask mandate and any remaining pre-departure testing requirements for air travel.
The chief executives from Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines expressed their frustrations with the illogical applications of the measurements.
“It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools, and sporting events without masks,” the letter states.
According to the airlines, it is time to “sunset” the federal travel restrictions “that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment.” Citing “inconsistency,” the business leaders cautioned Biden that pre-departure testing is an antiquated practice that obstructs America’s ability to compete in the traveling and tourism markets.
The United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada have already scrapped the burdensome regulations.
This month, the Biden administration chose to extend existing coronavirus requirements at all public transportation sites, including train stations, airports, and rideshare vehicles through April 18. The order was set to expire on March 18. However, the airline administrators strongly oppose the decision.
“The science clearly supports lifting the mask mandate,” says the letter. Referencing two scientific studies, the framers of the letter stated that “an airplane cabin is one of the safest indoor environments” because of the plane’s onboard air filtration system. Not only does the science not warrant these stipulations, but employees have to carry the burden of enforcing mask and testing injunctions.
The airline executives penned the letter just days after United Airlines gave the green light for unvaccinated employees to return to work. Ironically, the Chicago-based carrier fired more than 200 employees after refusing the Covid vaccine to maintain employment. In closing, the authors communicate to Biden that his ordinances are “outdated.”
The Biden administration has not yet responded.
