NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge's decision to strike down a national mask mandate on Monday has given power back to major airlines and airports as to whether or not masks will continue to be required in airports and on airplanes.
The ruling saw many airports and airplane carriers rushing to drop their mask requirements, including Louis Armstrong Airport New Orleans International Airport. The airport tweeted on Tuesday that "effective immediately, employees, passengers, and guests at MSY are no longer required to wear face masks.
Though passengers traveling through New Orleans may no longer need to worry about wearing masks, the same can't be said for other airports in the country. Passengers on an United Airlines flight from Houston to New York, for instance, could ditch their masks at their departing airport and on the plane, but have to put them back on once they land at Kennedy Airport or take a subway.
In a 59-page lawsuit ruling, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in issuing the original health order on which the TSA directive was based. She also said the order was fatally flawed because the CDC didn't follow proper rulemaking procedures.
Mizelle, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said the only remedy was to throw out the mandate for the entire country because it would be impossible to end it only for the people who objected in the lawsuit.
The White House said the mask order “is not in effect at this time” and called the court decision disappointing.
The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it would seek an emergency stay to block the judge’s order. The CDC also declined to comment.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines all quickly announced they were yanking the mask requirement for domestic and some international flights. So did American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways.
Sleepy passengers on a Delta flight between Atlanta and Barcelona, Spain, cheered, whistled and applauded when a flight attendant announced the news mid-flight over the ocean.
“No one’s any happier than we are,” the attendant says in a video posted by Dillon Thomas, a CBS Denver reporter, who was on the flight. She added that people who wanted to keep on their masks were encouraged to do so.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.