- The country’s largest flight attendant union believes the mask mandate on airplanes will be extended.
- It would expire on March 18 otherwise.
- Violence on planes has increased markedly since the pandemic.
The federal government’s mask mandate for airplanes and other methods of travel will likely be extended, the country’s largest union of flight attendants told Bloomberg on Tuesday.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA represents flight attendants from companies including United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
“We have every expectation that the mask mandate will be extended for the near term… The conditions in aviation are the same. Our youngest passengers do not yet have access to the vaccine,” the union told the outlet in an emailed statement.
The federal mandate is set to lapse on March 18, even as states across the country ditch mask mandates. It was first established in February 2021 and has been lengthened three times, though the federal government has yet to indicate any plans for extending the mandate.
Bloomberg noted that the previous extensions were each announced a few weeks before the mandates were set to expire.
Airplanes and airports have become hotbeds of conflict…