general

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it intends to appeal a Florida judge’s ruling that struck down a federal mask requirement on airplanes, trains, buses and other public transportation — but only if the CDC decides that extending the measure is necessary. The announcement from the Department of Justice came after a day of back and forth inside the White House, as administration officials faced a legal and political quandary: whether to let the judge’s ruling stand or to fight it, knowing that an appeal could result in a higher court, perhaps the Supreme Court, ruling against the administration and setting a lasting precedent that could undercut the CDC’s authority. In the end, the administration charted a careful course, publicly objecting to Monday’s ruling but putting off a final decision about whether to contest it. The Justice Department and the CDC “disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health,” the department said. “You are in the position of having two horrible choices,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert in public health law at Georgetown University. “One choice is to risk forever taking away CDC’s powers if this goes up to the 11th Circuit and ultimately the Supreme Court. “And on the other hand,” he added, “if you let what I consider to be a lawless decision by this judge go forward, then CDC is going to be gun-shy about doing things that it deems effective for the protection of the American public.” The mask mandate — which also applied to transportation hubs like airports and train stations, and even to ride-sharing services like Uber — had been set to expire on May 3 even before the judge struck it down on Monday. If the CDC decides there is a public health basis for trying to reinstate and extend the mandate, the Justice Department will swiftly file an appeal. But if the CDC decides otherwise, the administration will not appeal and the case will instead end as mooted — but without any signal of executive branch acquiescence to the judge’s view of its authority.<br/>

Public health experts reacted with dismay to a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that struck down a mask requirement for plane, bus and train passengers, expressing concern that the case would set a precedent that erodes the authority of public health agencies and hampers their ability to respond to health emergencies. The Florida judge’s ruling was issued less than a week after the CDC had extended its mask order through May 3. The ruling also came in the middle of a school vacation that coincides with several major religious holidays, when many families are traveling to see relatives, some for the first time in two years. Many airplane passengers flung their masks off and cheered when pilots made announcements saying that the rule was no longer in effect. Others who have disabilities, are immunocompromised or were traveling with children too young to be vaccinated were caught off-guard and distressed that the rules were changed literally mid-flight. “If this ruling stands, it could put the American public at great risk,” said Dr. Richard Besser, president and CE of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the CDC. He added that his concerns were less to do with the immediate consequences for mask mandates than with “the implications for future crises, of the ability to put in place simple public health measures to keep people safe.” Dr. Lakshmi Ganapathi, who teaches pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, pointed out that the ruling coincides with a recent rise in Covid cases nationally, driven by a rise in cases on the East Coast. “I think it’s extremely shortsighted and, if I were impolite would say, kind of stupid,” Dr. Ganapathi said. “This ruling is ill-timed, and it’s not commensurate with public health principles.”<br/>

The leader of a flight attendants union on Tuesday encouraged airline passengers to wear a mask on flights if they’re feeling sick, telling CNBC she believes it’s an act of “common courtesy.” The comments come one day after a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s Covid face-covering mandate for public transportation, including airplanes. The Transportation Security Administration said it will stop enforcing the pandemic policy, and the major US airlines said they’d stop requiring masks, too. Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson said she agrees with co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin, who said he thinks regardless of federal rules, people should wear a mask on public transportation if they have Covid or any other illness. “I think if there’s anything we’ve learned from this [pandemic], it has to be about common courtesy,” Nelson said, while noting the union had adopted a neutral position on whether the mask mandate should remain because its membership was divided. The union represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 17 airlines, according to its website. Nelson said that flight crews had masks on hand even before the Covid pandemic and would sometimes ask a passenger who is coughing repeatedly to put one on. “This is not about extending this mask policy. It’s more about how we’re recognizing that we’re looking out for each other and not bringing our own problems or viruses to other people knowingly.” Before Monday’s court decision, the national face-covering requirement was supposed to be in effect through May 3. <br/>

For two years, covered faces in airports and on airplanes were a persistent reminder of the hold that the coronavirus had on air travel. The end of the mask mandate on planes and other forms of transportation this week marked the latest advance in the airline industry’s effort to return to normal. Passengers and flight crews greeted a federal judge’s ruling against the mandate on Monday with a mix of joy, relief and alarm. For some, the change introduced new stress because the coronavirus is still circulating and killing people. But for many others, it removed a major source of tension and discomfort. For flight attendants, pilots and others in the business, the mask mandate had become a source of frustration even as they acknowledged that it protected them during their extensive exposure to strangers. Flight crews had to enforce proper face coverings — a dangerous job in polarizing times. Some passengers refused to comply and became belligerent; in extreme cases, they even punched, kicked and bloodied flight attendants. “They don’t like being policemen on airplanes,” said David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue Airways and now CE of Breeze Airways. “It’s not something that they signed up for, and I think it creates more agitation with customers.” The FAA started nearly 1,100 investigations into passenger misconduct last year, up from an average of 140 per year over the previous decade. The agency has started 345 investigations so far this year. Unions representing flight attendants and pilots have called on federal agencies to do more to penalize passengers who are violent or threaten violence. Some federal lawmakers have proposed tougher penalties for those convicted of assaulting flight crews and place those individuals on a no-fly list, but the prospects for the legislation are unclear in a closely divided Congress. Some Republicans said they were opposed to putting people on a no-fly list. The lifting of the mask requirement may help defuse some tension, and some attendants said it would give crew members back an important tool for de-escalating conflicts: their faces.<br/>

The US has stepped up the pressure on China and India for refusing to join Western sanctions against Moscow, threatening to punish businesses that provide service to Russian airlines flying to Beijing, Delhi and elsewhere. The Commerce Department last week updated a list of 153 planes operated by Russian and Belarusian companies -- nearly all made by Boeing -- that flew into those two countries without authorization from the US Washington says the flights violate sanctions restricting exports of American technology. "Maintaining this list reinforces to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his enablers that they are isolated from the world, and anyone who seeks to enable their aggression or flout our export controls does so at their own peril," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. American export controls have an unusually wide reach. The Russia sanctions encompass not only carriers that fly US-made planes, but even companies in countries such as China or India that refuel, repair or service these aircraft with the knowledge that they are violating sanctions. The Commerce Department earlier this month suspended exports to Aeroflot and two other Russian airlines in response to ongoing sanctions violations. The move bars these carriers from receiving U.S. parts or services for their aircraft, without which the airlines will have difficulty operating. In the announcement, the department cited cities where the carriers have continued service to and from Moscow, including Beijing, Delhi, Dubai, Istanbul and the Turkish city of Antalya. While many countries have ended direct flights into and out of Russia, some Asian and Middle Eastern nations with close ties to Moscow have allowed service to continue. Washington's highly publicized enforcement measures aim to pressure the latter countries to sever those ties.<br/>

Canada’s Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says masking guidelines while travelling still apply, as the US moves to drop its national mandate. Speaking in Calgary on Tuesday, Alghabra said while he won’t comment directly on the US court ruling that impacts plane, train, taxi, and other forms of travel, Canada continues to follow the science on masking. “The mask regulation is in place and it's based on the advice that we received from our experts and doctors and based on data. It is proven that masks prevent or reduce the transmission of COVID,” he said. The minister noted that pandemic-related health measures are constantly being reassessed. “There is no change in our regulation… Whenever the advice that we receive changes because circumstances change, we will change our regulation. But for now it is what it is,” he said. Currently in Canada, travellers must wear a mask or face covering while travelling through Canadian airports and for the duration of flights. Air operators are required to notify passengers of the rule and receive confirmation that everyone has a face covering. Transport Canada says travellers should wear a mask or face covering while travelling by rail, road and water.<br/>

The Quebec government said Tuesday it will cap the cost of plane tickets for all travel within the province to the regions, as a way to increase tourism to rural areas located far from the big cities. Starting June 1, anyone -- residents and visitors -- travelling within Quebec won't have to pay more than $500 out of pocket for round-trip tickets to places such as the Gaspe peninsula, Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel said. Speaking at the Mont-Joli Regional Airport, about 570 km northeast of Montreal, in the lower St-Lawrence region, Bonnardel said the $500 cap on ticket prices also applies to trips that require connecting flights. The discount, he added, will be applied at the time of purchase and airlines will be required to claim the difference in price from the government. Questioned whether airlines would be incentivized to increase their prices because the government is subsidizing tickets, Bonnardel said prices would be "negotiated annually" according to the cost of inflation. The government's regional air transport plan, he said, is funded with $261m over five years. All Canadian carriers can participate in the program but must serve destinations year-round to qualify for the subsidy. For example, Bonnardel said, Air Canada flights to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine wouldn't be subsidized because the airline currently offers that route in the summer only. The Transport Department did not specify how often a carrier has to fly to a location for the route to be considered year-round. Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx told reporters that the flight subsidy program opens new opportunities for Quebecers to discover their province, particularly the regions that have difficulty attracting tourism. <br/>

Hong Kong’s reopening to the rest of the world is being slowed by the government’s bans on airlines for carrying infected passengers, with 11 routes in total suspended as of Monday, the most since a peak in January. No passenger flights from outside Asia arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, and only one is due Tuesday, operated by Emirates after the Dubai-based airline completes a seventh ban. That will lower the number of simultaneously suspended routes to 10. Hong Kong suspends routes for seven days if three or more passengers on a flight are found to be infected with Covid-19 upon arrival or travelers don’t have the required documents. More carriers have been affected after flight bans from nine countries were lifted at the start of April and quarantine time was reduced, theoretically making travel to the city a little less arduous. Services operated by Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Air India, KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Malaysia Airlines and two Cathay Pacific Airways routes are now suspended. The flight suspensions have accelerated to effectively one a day, with 20 doled out since the start of April. There have been 68 route bans this year, already exceeding the 51 in total from 2021, when Hong Kong imposed even tighter rules on travel and quarantine. The suspensions for carrying infected passengers were halved to seven days on April 1. <br/>

Embraer’s aircraft deliveries tumbled to 14 units in Q1 2022, down significantly from both the previous quarter and the same period in 2021. The 14 deliveries included six commercial aircraft (four E175s and two E195-E2s) and eight executive jets (one Phenom 100, five Phenom 300s and two Praetor 600s), the Brazilian airframer says on 19 April. Those figures are down significantly from Q4 2021, when Embraer delivered 55 aircraft, including 16 commercial and 39 executive jets. In Q1 2021, Embraer delivered nine commercial aircraft and 13 executive aircraft, for a total of 22. Embraer does not specify factors causing its deliveries to slow in the first quarter, though other aircraft manufacturers typically report fewer deliveries at the start of each year. The company did not respond to a request for more information but may disclose more details on 28 April, the day Embraer plans to disclose its first-quarter 2022 results. The Q1 2020 was the last quarter when Embraer delivered so few aircraft, its data shows.<br/>