general

The Biden administration on Wednesday appealed a federal court ruling striking down the mask requirement for passengers on planes, trains, buses and other public transportation after the CDC concluded that the mandate was “necessary” to protect the public from the spread of the coronavirus. The decision came two days after a federal judge in Florida struck down the mask mandate, and set off a rush among airlines, some public transit systems and even Uber and Lyft to abandon mask requirements. Some pilots announced the abrupt change midflight, prompting celebration — but also anxiety — among virus-weary passengers. While the CDC wants to keep the mandate intact, it is also pressing the appeal to preserve its public health powers. But doing so is potentially risky; if the ruling striking down the mandate is upheld, that could permanently weaken the agency’s authority. Even if the Biden administration wins the case, there will be backlash among Americans who felt liberated by the lifting of the mask requirement, which also applied to transportation hubs like airports, seaports and train stations. The legal moves do not change the status of the mask mandate, which cannot be reinstated unless the administration wins a stay of the Federal District Court’s order, and there was little immediate sign that airlines would reintroduce their own. Legal experts said that it was likely that the administration would ask for a stay, and that if it does, the court could decide whether to grant it within days.<br/>

The FAA is maintaining its zero tolerance policy for unruly passenger behavior even after a federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s mask requirements for public transportation this week. After the TSA said the mask-mandate policy would no longer be enforced, airlines announced masks would become optional, effective immediately. Disputes over masks accounted for more than 70% of the record 5,981 reports of disruptive passengers the FAA received last year. The FAA introduced the zero tolerance policy in January 2021 in response to a surge in reports of unruly travelers from airlines and flight attendants. That policy calls for hefty fines and potential criminal prosecution for such behavior that previously might have spurred warnings or counseling. Flight attendants and their unions have reported a surge in verbal abuse and physical assault by passengers during the pandemic. The agency has referred 80 cases to the FBI, it said. “Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that’s a promise,” acting FAA Administrator Bill Nolen said. “Unsafe behavior simply does not fly and keeping our Zero Tolerance policy will help us continue making progress to prevent and punish this behavior.” <br/>

The Biden administration’s transportation mask mandate was one of the most divisive policies of the Covid pandemic. Its sudden end this week has been just as contentious. A federal judge in Florida on Monday struck down the mandate, which for more than a year required that travelers in the U.S. wear masks on planes, trains and other shared modes of public transportation, as well as at airports and rail and bus stations, in an effort to help slow the spread of Covid-19. The rule was due to expire after May 3, though the Biden administration said it plans to appeal this week’s court ruling if the CDC deems masks still necessary on public transportation. Still, the abrupt reversal stemming from Monday’s decision threw travelers, airlines and crews into a gray area. The TSA said it would no longer enforce the rule and airlines quickly said face masks would be optional, effective immediately. Some pilots announced the decision midflight, to applause. Some airports and public transportation systems such as those in New York and Philadelphia will still require masks even though they wouldn’t be required to do so by airlines or the federal government. In the two days since the ruling, views are varied on whether the change is a good or a bad thing.<br/>

The FAA said late on Wednesday it “will conduct a thorough and expeditious review” of a flight and parachute demonstration near the US Capitol that prompted a security scare. A single-engine airplane from the US Army’s Golden Knights parachute demonstration team flew during a performance over the nearby Washington Nationals baseball stadium, prompting an evacuation of the halls of Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized the FAA, saying the agency had failed to notify Capitol police. “We know our actions affect others, especially in our nation’s capital region, and we must communicate early and often with our law enforcement partners,” the FAA said, adding it would share updates on its review. <br/>

The FAA has found that Trevor Jacob, a daredevil YouTuber who posted a video of himself last year parachuting out of a plane that he claimed had malfunctioned, purposely abandoned the aircraft and allowed it to crash into the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California. In a letter to Mr. Jacob on April 11, the FAA said he had violated federal aviation regulations and operated his single-engine plane in a “careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.” The agency said it would immediately revokeJacob’s private pilot certificate, effectively ending his permission to operate any aircraft. Reached by email on Wednesday, Jacob appeared unaware of the FAA’s ruling and replied, “Where’d you get that information?” He did not immediately respond to follow-up emails. In a video posted on his YouTube channel last week, Jacob, a former snowboarding Olympian turned YouTuber with more than 100,000 subscribers, briefly addressed the airplane controversy, saying, “I can’t talk about it, per my attorney.” “But the truth of that situation will come out with time,” he added, “and I’ll leave that at that.” The FAA does not have the ability to prosecute; it can only revoke and suspend certificates and issue fines. The agency ordered Jacob to surrender his private pilot certificate and said he could face “further legal enforcement action” if he did not do so, including a civil penalty of up to $1,644 for each day that he did not return it.<br/>

A small plane crashed onto a busy street in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, killing at least six people including the pilot, officials said. The plane took off from the Port-au-Prince airport at 3:44 p.m. ET (1944 GMT) on route to the Haitian city of Jacmel, the Haitian civil aviation authority said, adding the plane suffered engine failure and sent a distress alert at 4:04 p.m. “I extend my sympathies to the families of the victims, who have been just plunged into the greatest desolation by this new tragedy,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry wrote on Twitter, without specifying the number of dead or wounded. Jude Edouard Pierre, mayor of the commune of Carrefour where the plane crashed, said six people had died. A government source said the pilot died after being taken to a hospital. Videos circulating on WhatsApp showed the broken wreckage of a plane in the middle of a road along with what appeared to the bodies of victims of the crash. <br/>

Indonesia has allowed passenger carriers to raise economy class fares amid surging fuel prices, to help ensure continuity of airline operations, its transportation ministry said. Effective this week, fuel surcharges will be allowed to exceed the government-regulated price ceiling by up to 10 per cent for jet plane flights and up to 20% for flights using propeller planes, ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said on Tuesday. The surcharges will be evaluated every three months and airlines can leave tariffs unchanged should they choose to, she said. The measure comes ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival in early May, during which millions of Indonesians travel to their hometowns. Airfares have risen lately, especially for those during Eid, and further increases could pressure inflation, which was already at a two-year high of 2.64 per cent in March. The increase in global oil prices have greatly affected costs for Garuda Indonesia and the flag carrier would review its cost structure, its chief executive Irfan Setiaputra said on Wednesday. He promised Garuda would maintain competitive airfares.<br/>

Boeing has advised key airlines and parts suppliers that 787 Dreamliner deliveries would resume in the second half of 2022, a crucial landmark for an industry eager for a post-COVID recovery, three people familiar with the matter said. Boeing's swollen 787 inventory, amassed since it halted deliveries nearly a year ago over structural flaws, has locked up desperately needed cash and cut airline capacity. Resuming deliveries is also key to Boeing's plans for step-by-step 787 production increases in the coming months - vital to propping up a supply chain that has weathered successive crises. read more A once-envisioned delivery target of April has already been pushed back to May with the expectation of further delays, the people said, as Boeing undertakes painstaking inspections and repairs for structural flaws in some 100 of the advanced composite jets, under scrutiny from more assertive US air-safety regulators. Boeing has stopped making public predictions on when it will win approval to resume deliveries. Boeing pegged the overall cost of the industrial snarl at $5.5b. Two people familiar with the matter said that Boeing has told airlines that deliveries would resume during the second half of this year. One of the people added that a restart during the third quarter of 2022 was realistic. The people and other industry sources cautioned that targets have repeatedly slipped.<br/>