Free Republic

A Florida federal judge and Trump appointee has liberated the U.S. airlines from the tyranny of having to enforce mask mandates. United and Alaska airlines did not waste any time in seconding that ruling by dropping their own mask requirements. ... United Airlines and Alaska Air became the first U.S airlines Monday night to drop their own mask mandates just hours after a federal judge in Florida ruled the U.S. government’s mask mandate requirement for airplanes, trains and other transit to be unlawful. “Effective immediately, masks are no longer required at United on domestic flights, select international flights (dependent upon...

Delta Air Lines will end its $200 per month healthcare surcharge imposed on employees not vaccinated against COVID-19, CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The healthcare surcharge will discontinue at the end of this month, he said. Bastian also said if the federal mask mandate for air travel is discontinued, Delta will not require passengers or employees to wear masks. Both stances are shifts in how the Atlanta-based airline is approaching an evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Delta took a lead role early in the pandemic instituting precautions including mask requirements, middle seat blocks and testing, then...