TSA drops mask mandate enforcement. Here’s what it means for the Charlotte airport, CATS
Most major airlines including Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s primary air carrier, American Airlines, have stopped requiring masks on U.S. flights.
The airport also is no longer requiring masks. And as of Tuesday morning, masks were also no longer mandated on Charlotte Area Transit System vehicles or at public transportation hubs like the Charlotte Transportation Center, CATS announced.
While studies during COVID have found that masks are effective at preventing the spread of the coronavirus when everyone wears them, wearing a mask when others near you aren’t doing so is less effective in slowing the spread, researchers say.
The change in protocol for public transportation comes after a Florida judge struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s transportation mask requirement on Monday. And the Transportation Security Administration will no longer enforce the requirement, the federal agency announced following that ruling.
Nearby airport Concord-Padgett Regional Airport is also dropping the mask requirement for customers. And Concord is ending the mask rule for its Rider Transit Center and for people riding its buses.
Masks were common, but not universal at the Charlotte airport Tuesday morning. The lack of a mandate drew mixed reactions from passengers.
“I’m very thankful that the mask mandate has been lifted today,” said Catawba County resident Michelle Riddle, who was flying to Alabama.
She wasn’t wearing a mask in the airport lobby and doesn’t plan to wear a mask on the plane. Riddle said she has asthma and doesn’t like wearing a mask due to her breathing issues.
Other mask mandate reactions from CLT airport
Roughly half of travelers in the CLT lobby were still wearing masks Tuesday morning.
Debbie Tedesco flew in to Charlotte from Philadelphia Tuesday morning. She wore a mask in the airport and on the plane.
Masks are still required in Philadelphia and in Philadelphia International Airport due to city requirements, she said. But she said she wasn’t nervous about traveling in close proximity with people without masks.
“I figured a lot of people would still have them on, and a lot of them did,” Tedesco said.
Jasmine Goings from South Carolina was flying from Charlotte to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. She wasn’t wearing a mask in the airport lobby, but said she would probably put one on in the plane.
“We’ll be in closer contact (on the plane),” she said.
Columbia resident Yari Daquioag was dropping off her parents at the airport, and also wasn’t wearing a mask in the airport lobby, but said her parents will wear masks while traveling.
They’re in their 70s and concerned about their COVID risk, she said. Her parents, also Columbia residents, are flying to JFK International Airport in New York City.
American Airlines and masks
American Airlines said late Monday that it would no long require customers to wear face masks on domestic flights or at U.S. airports.
But American emphasized in a statement that travelers should be aware that masks may be required based on local rules or when traveling internationally based on country requirements.
During the COVID pandemic, American has required customers to wear masks on flights since May 11, 2020, the Observer previously reported.
Later in 2020, the airline announce that passengers who failed to comply with the mask requirement could be blacklisted from future flights.
American’s announcement about dropping the mask requirement came at around 8:15 p.m. Monday.
But earlier in the day and after the judge’s ruling, the airline was still requiring customers to wear masks on flights.
For instance, An American flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte that departed around 5:15 p.m. still required passengers to mask up. Most people in the crowded Charlotte airport around 7:30 p.m. Monday still wore masks.
Unruly passengers and masks
In the last two years, the FAA has announced a dramatic spike in reports of unruly passengers on flights. And many of those unruly incidents revolved around complaints about the mask requirement, according to the agency.
So far this year, the FAA has received 1,150 reports of unruly passengers. Of those incidents, 744 were related to face masks, according to the FAA.
One of the world’s busiest airports
Last year, the Charlotte airport was the fifth busiest airport in the world for arrivals and departures, according to 2021 preliminary rankings from the Airports Council International. That ranking was released last week.
For 2020, CLT ranked sixth for arrivals and departures.
The airport saw 519,895 arrivals and departures last year.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 9:54 AM.
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