The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will refuse any passenger who tries to enter airport terminals, board planes, trains or buses without masks, and those who refuse could face federal fines, the federal official said Sunday night.
The rules for transport masks follow the Biden government’s executive order that facial coverings be used on all federal properties.
The new rule will take effect at midnight on Monday night and will remain in effect until at least May 11.
TSA officials did not specify the amount of the fine.
But documents obtained by CNN reveal that airlines and airports will be required to report anyone who refuses to wear a mask and comply with other COVID-19 measures.
As of February 2, TSA will refuse passengers who refuse to wear masks at airports, flights or other means of transport under their authority
Passengers who refuse to dress up can face fines and will be reported to federal authorities, according to the TSA announcement on Sunday (photo)
Coronavirus cases and deaths are finally on the decline in almost every state in the U.S.
But progress is precarious, and the U.S. has seen how an increase in travel can fuel rising spikes in coronavirus cases after the Thanksgiving holiday brought unprecedented rates of more than 200,000 daily infections and, subsequently, more than 3,000 deaths per day.
President Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day in office, including several to address the pandemic, including the mask’s mandate.
Public health officials advised against a nationwide mask mandate, but it was a stark contrast to former President Trump’s approach to masking.
Research by partner airlines and universities suggests that the risk of transmitting coronavirus on an airplane, or even on the subway and buses, is ‘very low’ – with the appropriate measures in place.
Airports and airlines are under the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration, which means they are subject to the same executive order that requires masks in the Oval Office
The high rate of air replacement in planes helps to prevent potentially infectious particles from spreading through the aircraft, but it is probably not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on its own.
Travel is a fraction of what it was in February 2019, but almost six times as many people flew on January 31, compared to the low point of travel in the spring.
Last week, an average of more than 700,000 people passed TSA checkpoints in the U.S.
Air travel is the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration, giving the Biden administration authority over airlines and TSA.
However, most airlines already demanded that all passengers wear masks while traveling, as a matter of company policy.
Last month, passengers en route to the Trump rally in Washington, DC, allegedly refused to wear masks, harassed other passenger crew members who, according to a Reuters report.
Enforcement actions were brought against several of these passengers.
In addition to restoring and expanding the travel bans lifted by the Trump administration just before Induction Day, Biden added the mask’s mandate, which will now have more legal force than private company policies.
It also backs up a Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC) that orders passengers on all modes of public transport to wear masks while traveling, boarding and disembarking.
“TSA will fully comply with the President’s Executive Orders, CDC guidance and DHS National Emergency determination to ensure healthy and safe travel in all sectors of transportation,” said Darby LaJoye, Senior Officer Executing Administrator Duties TSA.
‘This will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and encourage a unified government response.
“As we continue to experience the impacts of this pandemic, we are committed to this measure as the right thing to do for the TSA workforce, for stakeholders in our industry and for passengers.”
The guideline seen by CNN will also require that the ‘full names and contact information’ of all non-compliant passengers or airport goers be submitted to federal authorities.
He also directs the FSA to make its ‘best efforts to land the person who refuses to comply’ with the mask mandates.