By Pete Muntean, CNN
Two major US airlines are in something of a forgiving mood regarding passengers who violated face mask rules during the pandemic while a key US government agency vows to stay tough on bad behavior in the skies.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said they would now allow some passengers who were banned from their planes because of mask violations to return to their flight rosters — determined on a case-by-case basis.
The move comes after two dizzying days of rulings and countermoves on the federal mask mandate for public transportation. It started Monday when a federal judge struck down the mandate, setting off a chain reaction in Washington and the rest of the country.
By Wednesday evening, the Justice Department had filed an appeal to the ruling following a recommendation by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With the mandate no longer in effect, at least temporarily, some major US airlines quickly dropped their mask requirements.
Now Delta and United are taking it one step further.
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Delta said Wednesday it will restore flight privileges for some passengers it banned for not following mask rules.
“At Delta, nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and our people. With masks now optional, Delta will restore flight privileges for customers on the mask non-compliance no-fly list only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us,” the Atlanta-based company said in a statement.
“Any further disregard for the policies that keep us all safe will result in placement on Delta’s permanent no-fly list. Customers who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list remain barred from flying with Delta.”
In a similar move, United Airlines now says it will allow passengers it banned for not following mask rules to fly again.
“On a…