You’ll Still Be Wearing Masks Flying Out Of Bismarck

Even though the mask mandate is long gone in the state of North Dakota, you'll still be required to wear a mask flying out of the Bismarck Airport or any airport for that matter.

According to an article on Valley News Live,  the Transportation Security Administration has extended a requirement that all passengers on planes, trains and buses continue to wear face masks or face coverings.  TSA's rule was set to expire on May 11th.  Many, thought this mandate would be allowed to expire with COVID-19 cases continuing to decline across the country.  According to an article on Healthline,  overall, the number of new COVID-19 cases in the last week fell 16 percent nationwide.

The Transportation Security Administration updated face covering rule will now go through September 13th.  The only people exempted from the rule will be children up to 2 and people with certain disabilities.

The airlines and their unions were pushing for an extension to the current rule.  They believe mandatory masks are keeping passengers and airline workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There's been numerous confrontations between unruly passengers who refused to wear face masks and airline and airport employees over the past year.  Some of them have turned violent like this one on an Allegiant Airlines flight out of Mesa, Arizona.

Let's face it, flights can be uncomfortable.  Not everybody can afford to fly first class.  Warmer temperatures coming up are only going to exasperate the situation.  I don't think anybody likes to wear a mask, whether you agree with them or not, masks are here to stay for awhile longer when flying.  Now, could that guy get his arm off my arm rest please?