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Air travel in summer: what to know about cancellations, refunds
American Airlines has just canceled 1,000 flights. Here’s everything you need to know about airports, flight cancellations, refunds, restrictions.
Just the FAQ, USA TODAY
Airplanes and airports are among the few places where face masks are required, but they might not be after September 13 if the rule is not extended.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, chairman of industry lobbying group Airlines for America (A4A), said Thursday that Southwest and the trade group were not recommending another extension of the federal transport mask term.
The mandate, requested by airlines and their unions to help with passenger mask compliance and protect the health of flight crews, was put in place by President Joe Biden in January. The mandate, which applies to trains, planes and airports, buses and transportation hubs, was originally scheduled to expire in May, but was extended until September 13, with the blessing of airlines.
Reports abound of passengers refusing to wear masks and becoming aggressive with flight crews.
Kelly, answering questions from reporters on Southwest’s quarterly earnings conference call, said airlines support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines on masks, which say people vaccinated do not have one. need but that unvaccinated people should wear one.
New rules: CDC lifts indoor mask requirement for fully vaccinated people
Unless that opinion changes, he said, “we wouldn’t advocate, from Southwest’s perspective, or A4A for that matter, to extend the term.”
Kelly said he was unsure whether the warrant, enforced by the Transportation Security Administration, would be extended or lifted.
“It is a political question, to a certain extent,” he said.
Kelly said the government is looking into the matter, given the spread of the delta variant, which has spiked COVID-19 cases, but is not aware of “any efforts underway” to extend the term. of the mask.
COVID-19 and travel: The delta variant is spreading. Should travelers be worried?
The CDC did not comment on the status of the mandate beyond September 13.
“We cannot comment on ongoing regulatory discussions regarding the future of the order,” spokeswoman Caitlin Shockey said via email.
Kelly is the first U.S. airline executive to publicly express support for the term expires, although United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has said he expects it to be lifted in September.
“Whatever they decide, we will implement it,” American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said on the airline’s quarterly earnings conference call on Thursday. “It is not for us to give our opinion.”
Delta CEO Ed Bastian told analysts and investors on Wall Street last week he didn’t know the fate of the tenure.
He said there were as many “advantages to removing the mask requirement as there being to maintaining it now.”
“I think it is important that medical experts make these decisions, and not airline professionals, as we have learned through the pandemic,” he said on the call for the results of the airline company. “They’re the ones who have all the knowledge and information and keep people safe. I appreciate that people don’t want to wear the mask. I also don’t like to wear the mask when I’m on board, but it’s something we have to do to protect each other. “
Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, will once again require people to wear masks indoors – regardless of vaccination status – after an increase in COVID-19 cases.
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