The Transportation Security Administration will extend its US federal transportation mask mandate through Jan. 18, a spokesperson told WTOP.
TSA told WTOP in a statement, “TSA will extend the directives through January 18, 2022. The purpose of TSA’s mask directive is to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation.”
The mandate was set to expire on Sept. 13.
More than 2,867 incidents of passengers violating the federal mask mandate have been reported to the Federal Aviation Administration so far this year, the FAA said Tuesday.
The news agency Reuters first reported the mandate extension.
Union reaction
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson, representing nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 17 airlines, said she supports the TSA’s expected extension of the mask mandate.
Flight attendants have been on the front lines of enforcing the requirement.
The decision, she said, “will help tremendously to keep passengers and aviation workers safe.”
“We all look forward to the day masks are no longer required but we’re not there yet.”
The-CNN-Wire
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