Airlines Still Don’t Think New CDC Mask Guidelines Go Far Enough
Photo Credit: Passengers wear masks while waiting for a United flight. United Airlines / United Airlines
Skift Take
New federal guidelines recommending masks on public transport are helpful but don't have the force of law. This continues to place the burden of enforcement on frontline employees.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a "strong recommendation" for masks and facial coverings on all forms of public transportation but stopped short of mandating their use.
The decision updates prior guidance that merely recommended mask use on board aircraft, trains, buses, and other forms of transportation but still does not have the force of law that many airlines and their unions have clamored for.
"Intrastate transmission of the virus has led to—and continues to lead to—interstate and international spread of the virus," CDC wrote in its new recommendation."Given how interconnected most transportation systems are across the nation and the world, local transmission can grow quickly into interstate and international transmission when infected persons travel on public conveyances without wearing a mask and with others who are not wearing masks."
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