The heads of ten airlines and cargo carriers issued the letter to the White House.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing American, Delta, and United among others, directed the letter to President Joe Biden specifically. They wrote:

HELP Send Joe PACKING [ACT NOW]

“The high level of immunity in the U.S., availability of high-quality masks for those who wish to use them, hospital-grade cabin air, widespread vaccine availability and newly available therapeutics provide a strong foundation for the Administration to lift the mask mandate and predeparture testing requirements. We urge you to do so now.

We are requesting this action not only for the benefit of the traveling public, but also for the thousands of airline employees charged with enforcing a patchwork of now-outdated regulations implemented in response to COVID-19.

People are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools and at sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration system that aircraft do.”

The TSA announced it was extending its mask mandate on public transportation until at least April 18th last month. Mask mandates have been the cause of many violent outbursts by passengers who have refused to comply as cases drop.

Neither the White House nor the Transportation Department responded to requests for comment.

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