Federal travel mask mandate extended into January

A man wears a mask at JFK Airport in New York City.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 18 August 2021

The Transportation Security Administration announced on Tuesday it is extending the federal mask mandate for airplane, bus, and train passengers through Jan. 18.

This is being done to "minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation," the agency said, and comes as the Delta variant continues to spread across the country. The mandate was put in place on Feb. 1, and was already extended once before in April to Sept. 13.

"Extending the federal mask mandate for travel makes sense for the current health environment," Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy for the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement. "The universal wearing of masks in airports and on airplanes, trains, and other forms of public transportation is both an effective safeguard against spreading the virus and boosts public confidence in traveling — both of which are paramount for a sustained economic recovery."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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