Some airline employees push back against CDC mask mandate
ATLANTA - In a new push that began at midnight Monday, some airline employees will no longer wear masks on planes and at airports. The silent protest is an organized effort to push back against the federal mask mandate for air travel.
"This is us, We The People, taking into our own hands and telling the government that we're taking charge of our jobs," explained Hannah Rose, an Atlanta-based flight attendant. "We're taking charge of our personal life and our own safety, and we're saying end the mandates."
The latest mask mandate was set to expire April 18, but in a news release last week, the Centers for Disease Control announced it would extend it once again through May 3.
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"Since early April, there have been increases in the 7-day moving average of cases in the U.S. The CDC Mask Order remains in effect while CDC assesses the potential impact of the rise of cases on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and healthcare system capacity," the release read.
The extension came even after the CEOs of multiple airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines, sent a letter to President Joe Biden in late March, urging the end of COVID-19 mandates on travel.
There were a handful of uniformed airline employees maskless inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Monday afternoon, though it was not clear if they were part of the organized effort.
Rose said the anti-mandate initiative includes thousands of airline workers across multiple companies from pilots to flight attendants to gate crew and beyond.
"Not all of us are brave enough to do what we feel is right and so, us that's this initiative. We feel that this is our responsibility to go forward and do what we believe is right so that others can follow. So, I'm very — I am very hopeful," Rose explained.
Airline employees said the initiative will continue until they get a response from the CDC or until the mask mandate is lifted.
Monday, a federal judge in Florida voided the mandate, ruling it exceeded the CDC's authority and that the CDC failed to justify its decision. The federal government can decide to appeal.