Late on Friday night, the Centers for Disease Control issued its new order for wearing masks on airlines, which Live and Let’s Fly already covered in detail. The mandate creates broad new exceptions that will embolden poor behavior on airplanes while ridiculously requiring masks for two-year-olds.
Bad News: New Federal Mask Mandate On Airplanes
While the general idea of a federal mask mandate that replaces a patchwork approach across the nation is not without merit, the new order has the distinct probability of making flying less safe for everyone and more burdensome for families with young children.
Disability Exception
The new mandate is aimed at the “preservation of human life” but a broad new loophole may undermine that goal.
Those “with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask” no longer must wear a mask. Currently in the USA, only Delta allows for this exception and only upon virtual consolation with a medical profession at check-in.
Folks, this is a loophole a mile wide. Airlines will be permitted to ask for medical documentation or consultation, but will have to defer once that’s presented. Look for a new network of anti-mask doctors of the Simone Gold variety to issue “medical orders” (for a fee, of course) that a flyer cannot wear a mask.
Yes, I expect a lot more losers like David Harris, Jr. to now get away with lying about their medical condition. Airlines will no longer be able to question a doctor’s note and I know far too many doctors who will willingly write these notes.
Children Two And Under
And then there is the issue of children. The new mandate requires all children two and over to wear a mask. Currently, this is policy at all airlines except for Delta Air Lines, which does not require young children to wear a mask if they have trouble keeping it on.
Delta’s exception is science-based (most of the world does not require masks for young people, let alone two-year-olds) and was also an important market differentiator.
Forcing two-year-olds to wear masks is simply cruel and does not meaningfully slow the spread of virus. Now we’ll continue to see two-year-olds being thrown off. Ridiculous.
CONCLUSION
I had hoped the new federal mandate would correct the issue of forcing two-year-olds to wear a mask. It did not. I had hoped that it would not open a huge loophole for people to exploit “disability” exceptions. It did.
Expect less compliance once the new rule goes into effect. This rule is regress, not progress.
What are your thoughts on the new federal mask mandate?
Masks are forever. Get used to it. The next variant is right around the corner and if the now-normal (and accepted without a whimper) lockdowns are the response to every variant, they will continue too.
Eventually the government will remind us that the next coronavirus (“or worse!!”) could happen anytime and will mandate masks everywhere, all the time, forever.
The only question is whether they’ll somehow try to enforce masks in private residences. Sounds unlikely today but many things have come to be once sounded unlikely in the past.
Your note about the disability exception isn’t super relevant. Carriers can still impose requirements above and beyond the requirements ordered by the CDC, and the CDC entirely defers to the carrier on determining what requirements someone must present if they want an exception to wearing a mask. Carriers can still require consultation with their own medical professionals and do not have to accept the note from a passenger’s doctor as gospel:
“Operators of conveyances or transportation hubs may impose requirements, or conditions for carriage, on persons requesting an exemption from the requirement to wear a mask, including medical consultation by a third party, medical documentation by a licensed medical provider, and/or other information as determined by the operator, as well as require evidence that the person does not have COVID-19 such as a negative test result from a SARS-CoV-2 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19.”
That’s not the case. Carriers must accept “medical documentation by a licensed medical provider” and/or consultation by a third party. So do American, Southwest, United, and others have the infrastructure in place in order to verify themselves, or will they just take a doctor’s note? Because right now, it doesn’t mater…you can’t wear a mask, you cannot fly on these carriers. Now, they must accept you if you can “prove” a disability.
Unless you’re reading a different order than I am, it says that carriers may require consultation with their own third party medical professionals in addition to the documentation provided by another medical provider (as well as any other documentation that they determine to be necessary), hence the “and” in the “and/or” in footnote #8. Is there another set of guidance that you’re referring to other than the one you linked?
You’re not getting my point. I pointed out the and/or above. The point is that a carrier cannot just turn away those with “disabilities” any longer, as all but Delta do now.
What’s to stop a doctor from signing a note saying I have panic attacks when I wear a mask? Like a virtual doctor on call from United or American is going to be able to dispute that?
If your disabilities prevent you from wearing a mask (and there are certainly a number of such disabilities), then you should not be flying during the pandemic.
So, nothing stopped a doctor from signing a note saying I have panic attacks when I wear a mask in 2020. But the airlines didn’t have to accept the note.
The ADA didn’t as a result of this CDC order. So I’m not sure I agree with you that this creates a wide loophole.
If I was giving the airline industry legal advice (which I’m not), I would tell them to continue doing what they are doing, and let the lawsuits begin. By the time they get a hearing, it will be 2024.
The ADA didn’t change….
@Nate Nate: And? The ADA doesn’t apply, the ACA does, and the ACA allows carriers to deny people who are deemed a safety threat, i.e. those without a mask.
This guidance changes none of that. You’re reading more into it than is actually there. The exceptions to the mask mandate are only exceptions to the federal regulation, and carriers are still permitted to have requirements beyond those proscribed by the regulation.
Don’t think so. We will see.
Does this CDC guidance change the ACA (Air Carrier Access Act – “ACAA”?). No, it doesn’t, because the CDC doesn’t has the authority to change the ACAA.
As you said, “the ACA allows carriers to deny people who are deemed a safety threat, i.e. those without a mask.”
You have contacts in the airline industry — have you reached out and confirmed your interpretation?
The CDC guidance doesn’t create a loophole in the ACAA.
Indeed, I have. United is already planning changes to its mask policy concerning passengers with disabilities. Stay tuned for a post.
Consolation?
Fixed.
Amazing how you look down on people with disabilities… must be nice to never have gone to war, suffered injuries on behalf of your country, and still be looked down on by others.
Total non-sequitur Joseph. Shame on you.
Thanks Joseph, Matt has been doing this for quite a while now. I’ve never seen someone with such contempt for those of us with medical conditions who even fly for work and not pleasure. But hey, my job doesn’t matter and his vax won’t get delievered because he wants to be a jerk to me about a flu for anyone under 50.
Gotta hand it to you, Matt, you’re definitely one of the most shameless, unapologetically intolerant liberal travel bloggers out there: “If your doctor doesn’t think the way my preferred doctor thinks, they are only motivated by political ideology and are dishonest if not evil.” Not even a consideration that all doctors do not agree that masks can slow, let alone stop, the spread of a virus and have plenty of science-based studies showing that to be the case. Matt won’t remind us that his side’s own anointed all-knowing covid “expert” initially told us clearly that masks don’t work when this whole covid deal was beginning to explode for heaven’s sake. But, nope, politics NOW says masks do work. Forget what science said last year. And that masks obviously haven’t stopped and never will stop a virus. Unfortunately liberals have more political power now, so it looks like we’re all going to be forced to wear pieces of magical “virus stopping” idiot cloth in front of our mouths for the foreseeable future. Thanks to Matt and his ilk demonizing anyone who doesn’t think the way THEY think. lol
Matthew is a liberal? Not sure what blog you are reading, but it is not this one.
Why do you post here? Neo-Parler seems like a happier place for you.
Or here’s a “white space” idea for you: White Guy Right Wing Extreme Conservative Travel Blog. Should get tons of clicks.
Bringing race into it IS racist
“…only upon virtual consolation…”
While the phrase may be apt 🙂 , I think you meant ‘consultation’.
Yep. Fixed. Thanks.
Could you imagine the uproar if Trump was in the WH? No mention of sleepy Joe or crazy dems. Just a mention of “federal ” mandate.
Well, whatever makes it harder for large families to randomly jump on planes right now is good. They are doing nothing remotely necessary other than filling up resorts in Florida and Mexico on the cheap and putting a smiley face on the new variants that will have that many more people to target. Keep your freakin family of 5 at home and out of the way for a few more months unless you are permanently relocating.
Thanks for highlighting the issues getting young children to comply with the mask requirement. My two year old is overseas (didn’t have a choice). I was planning to bring her back Stateside on a European airline next month. Would this mandate require her to wear a mask on the European airline? I just want her back home safe and sound.
Good question and I’ve asked CDC for clarification. Is not clear based upon the order, though my hunch is that airlines will be at least asked to comply:
Thanks Matthew! Please keep us posted.
The United States of America is now a third world country! There’s a lot of piss ant countries that have gotten this all in hand and back to normal. Here in the US we’re still dysfunctional as hell.
The civil liberties disability act states you cannot put others at risk to satisfy your own medical needs. Google it. If you have those kind of medical issues you shouldn’t even be flying. Most of these anti-masters medical issues are bogus. Just like the comfort pet fiasco.
As far as the two years old. They better get used to it because it’s the new norm. Kids are a lot more resilient than you think. Just make it fun.
Wow, that felt good!
The term Third World was originally coined in times of the Cold War to distinguish those nations that are neither aligned with the West (NATO) nor with the East, the Communist bloc.
By definition, the US cannot be a Third World country.
You probably mean “developing country”.
Most of the “Developed World” provide affordable healthcare, low cost higher education and social safety nets. So in those respects, and considering our failure to handle Covid, yes the US is more akin to a developing country.
Acaa requires the airline to define the risk, which they have never bothered to do, dingbat. The probability of a nonsymtopmatic person being a threat is a rounding error from 0%. But that doesn’t stop you science illiterates from screaming “muh safety” like the ignorant tools you are.
In my opinion mandatory masks is good, but should also exempt to people with health conditions and children. It is indeed hard to make children wear a mask. Cathay Pacific for example exempt passengers who are unable to tolerate a face covering and children under six years old are not require to wear.
Mask will be with us for a long long long time. I suggest that we all figure out how to get used to it.
Thank you america for continuosly providing joke for the rest of the world in this pandemic.
Are they really going to arrest and charge 2 year olds with a federal crime for refusing to wear a mask?