Skies Are Friendly Again Without Mask Mandate

April 19, 2022 was a terrific day for America.

That was the day a federal judge had the courage to strike down the federal mask mandate on public transportation.

Videos from that day showed flight attendants flinging their masks in the air as they announced to passengers that they were free to breathe again in the cabin.

Of course, passengers who liked wearing masks were free to continue to do so. In my flying experience, few do.

Americans as a whole clearly don’t like masks.

Here’s something interesting but predictable: Reports of unruly passengers have plummeted with the termination of mask mandates. The Washington Post took note in May, shortly after the mandate was lifted, and concluded that “lifting the mask mandate has eased tensions on planes.”

The trend continues, reported Steve Miller of RealClearInvestigations on December 14.

“…disruptions on commercial, domestic flights have plummeted by 74% since the Biden administration’s mask mandate was overturned by a federal judge in April. The current rate is 1.7 unruly passengers per 10,000 flights, down from 6.4 per 10,000 in February…Incidents under investigation have dropped by nearly 40% since a federal judge found the mandate exceeded the rule-making authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Anyone who flew when masks were mandated and has flown since will tell you that the atmosphere on board is back to normal. No leg room, anemic snacks and very few masks.

Oh, and videos of families being tossed off aircraft because their 2-year-olds refused to wear a mask that were a daily occurrence during the days of the nutty mandate have blessedly stopped.

Yet the Biden administration - at the behest of the authoritarian CDC - continues to fight in court to restore the mandate. They just won’t let it go. A hearing is scheduled for January in Atlanta’s 11th Circuit.

It’s unclear if the feds really want to reinstate the loathsome mask mandate or simply cling to  the power to tell people what to do.

The woman behind the freeing of faces has a theory:

Leslie Manookian, president of the Health Freedom Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit that overturned the CDC’s mask mandate, sees authoritarian impulses driving the continuing litigation.  

“Most administrations of the last 10 to 20 years have sought this kind of power,” she said, likening COVID-era measures to the Patriot Act passed after the 9/11 attacks, which vastly increased the ability of government to surveil the public. 

 “It’s not just the Biden administration,” Manookian said. “It’s about increasing the power of the federal government as well as people who are not elected, and it’s not a partisan issue. They all want more power and are getting it through these emergencies.” 

Let’s hope the feds lose. Wear a mask if you like. Leave the rest of us alone.