A federal court in Florida has declared the Biden administration’s mask requirement for aircraft and other modes of public transportation to be unconstitutional.
District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the United States of America said that the national public health organization exceeded its legal authority in imposing the order.
The US transportation authorities said that they will no longer require mask use.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended the rule to May 3 only last week.
Judge Mizelle is located in Florida, yet federal courts have the authority to enjoin the implementation of national government programs.
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Her Monday directive essentially eliminates the necessity for masks at all airports, trains, taxis, and transport hubs.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, called the decision “disappointing” and highlighted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to urge travelers to cover their mouths and noses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday’s verdict.
Vivek Murthy, the US Surgeon General, said last week that the requirement had been extended until May due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
The case was first filed in July 2021 by the conservative organization, the Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF), and two Florida individuals who claimed that wearing masks caused their anxiety and panic attacks.
The plaintiffs said that the CDC rule was “arbitrary and capricious” given that it exempted some populations, such as children under the age of two, but not others.
Judge Mizelle, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, determined in her order that the CDC had unlawfully utilized the so-called “good cause exception” which allows the agency to avoid public notice and discussion of the requirement.
“Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends,” Judge Mizelle ruled, citing another case, “the Court declares unlawful and vacates the Mask Mandate.”
The Transportation Security Administration, which is responsible for airport security in the United States, declared shortly after the judicial ruling was released that it would no longer enforce the mask rule.
People on United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, and American Airlines said that face coverings would not be allowed on domestic flights and on some foreign flights, but not on all flights.
There have been more than 7,000 cases of rowdy passengers on flights since the CDC first told people to wear masks in February 2021, and 70% of them were because of masking laws, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The COVID-19 directives issued by the Biden administration have met with varying degrees of success in the legal system.
People who work for big businesses had to get vaccines or be tested for diseases in January, but the Supreme Court stopped the White House from putting them into place.
However, an appeals court upheld the Biden administration’s mandate that all federal workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 earlier this month.
Brown Stone contributed reporting, and MarkAnthony Nze, Ph.D. edited the piece for Africa Today News, New York.
