The Administration appears to finally be getting a grip on the pandemic-driven mask-wearing dilemma of a surprising number of airline travelers who continue to oppose such an annoyance on their ‘civil rights’ - and as a result, an unsurprising and rising record number of people dying because of that misinformed position causing CV-19 flare-ups wherever they disembark in communities nationwide. We’re looking at you, 25,000 un-masked Super-Bowlers and partiers, unless you walked or bicycled to Tampa... and you’re still not completely blame-free because you still have to walk home.
There have been numerous stories of airline passengers using ridiculous work-arounds such as taking a mask-less 2-hour flight to sip a drink and eat a bag of peanuts one at a time, a few of whom have become combative when challenged by the cabin crew. I’ve heard a couple of instances where the flight crew returned to the gate, and some enroute pax have been cited by LEOs upon arrival (thus, the connection to my usual security topics in these pages.) From the early days it has been debated whether dealing with the various permutations of the problem belongs to the airline, airport, law enforcement or health department, in large part because there was no significant and stable guidance being provided, further complicated by highly fractured jurisdictional and regulatory issues at every level of government, including internationally.
To its collective credit, Government has begun to define the edges of the jigsaw puzzle with some coordinated efforts. First, recall that TSA’s mission is not just both pieces of aviation; they are also responsible for all modes of surface transportation – public transportation, passenger rail, bus systems (and pipelines, but that’s not a mask issue). TSA has issued a Security Directive (SD) which is, by definition, deemed to be Sensitive Security Information (SSI), the explanatory TSA press release is provided here, backed up by a CDC release and 11-page Emergency Order , both responding to the President’s broader Executive Order on mandated masks in all modes of public transport, including their terminals, stations and hubs. No mask at the TSA checkpoint means no entry past there and no boarding your flight; no mask when internationally inbound may be denied entry, boarding or continued transport.
Among other things, the TSA SD lists fines from a $250 first offense, up to $1,500 for repeat offenders and potentially other sanctions in special cases. There are special workplace, medical and disability allowances in the two links above, but overall, the mandate is pretty universal.
There will certainly be an initial flurry of airport security and local law enforcement issues to be worked out. For example, many smaller airports may not have full-time on-site LEO coverage, or depending on the rate of post-CV-19 recovery, any available airport or airline personnel to deal with anti-maskers. One of the requirements in the new TSA/CDC guidance is more public awareness information about the new restrictions.
Consider, however, this has been a record year for finding more weapons at the checkpoint than ever before - despite constant public awareness campaigns and media coverage for nearly 20 years – since TSA began in November 2001. Hopefully the enforcement rate for masks will be better than the enforcement for weapons. What’re the odds...?
