Federal Judge Overturns Mask Mandate – Biden Administration Considers Appealing

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Florida, ruled that the federal travel mandate enforcing masks on all flights and other forms of public transportation was unlawful, ending the mandate. However, by early Tuesday evening, the Biden Administration announced they would appeal the Judge’s ruling saying it would only do so “if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determines extending the mandate is necessary for public health.” Judge Mizelle, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued her 59-page ruling banning the mask mandate. The federal mask requirement covered airlines, airports, mass transit, and taxis. In her ruling, Judge Mizelle stated that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking procedures that leaving it fatally flawed. She also stated that the only remedy was to vacate the rule across the country because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group of people who objected to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, several major airlines, including airports and the TSA, have dropped the mask requirement. Some pilots and airline staff made the announcements during flights with varying reactions from passengers. A singing flight attendant walked down the aisle with a bag for passengers to throw away their masks on one Jet Blue flight.