Lifting the Mask Mandate Mid-Flight Was a Terrible Idea
Passengers bought their tickets thinking certain safety protocols were in place. The rules changed, mid-air, without warning.
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It’s long been known that some people are perhaps a little too comfortable doing vile things on airplanes—like kicking off their shoes and proceeding to clip their toenails, breastfeeding their hairless cat, watching porn plain-as-day, forcing everyone to listen to their Jesus music singalong, or, perhaps worst of all, reclining their seat all the way back. But if there’s anything more revolting than all the rest, it’s a flight attendant announcing via song that masks are no longer mandated on airplanes, in the middle of a global pandemic, when you’d purchased your ticket and boarded the plane under the assumption that certain safety protocols would be in place.
“Throw away your masks,” the JetBlue staffer belted to a full flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida en route to the nation’s capital, as he moved through the aisles with a garbage bag yesterday.
This week, concurrent—and truly cursed—interactions mid-flight took place across the country to the apparent glee of many passengers. Cheers, tears and yes, even song rang out on a number of flights as nearly every major airline (Delta, American, JetBlue, United, chief among them) announced mid-air that they would no longer mandate masks.
The news arrived less than a week after the Biden administration said it was extending the nationwide mask requirement for airplanes and public transit for 15 days, and as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to monitor a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
So, what changed? In short: On Tuesday, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump-appointed federal judge from Florida ruled the CDC’s travel mask mandate was unlawful. As a result, the majority of airlines and airports in cities where covid-19 is currently on the rise, like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, swiftly switched to mask-optional policy. That same day, ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced via their websites that masks will also be made optional while riding or driving.