A group of Republican lawmakers is suing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to force an end to coronavirus mask requirements on airplanes.
The group of 16 GOP members of Congress is led by Representative Thomas Massie and was joined by Senator Rand Paul. The lawsuit called the current CDC guidelines an "illegal mask mandate for individuals traveling on commercial airlines”.
The lawsuit includes Representatives Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop, Lauren Boebert, Andrew Clyde, Warren Davidson, Bob Good, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Brian Mast, Alex Mooney, Barry Moore, Ralph Norman, Bill Posey, Matt Rosendale and Chip Roy.
The politicians claim Congress did not approve the mandate and that the CDC does not have the "authority" to enforce the requirement.
On 18 March the requirement was extended until 18 April, despite federal mask and vaccine passport requirements being lifted by the Biden administration.
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"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have the legal authority to force people traveling on commercial airlines to wear masks," Mr Massie said in a statement. "Congress never passed a law requiring masks on commercial flights."
He said the lawsuit was aimed at the "faceless bureaucrats" who support the "CDC's unscientific regulation”.
"In honor of the TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of 15 Days To Slow The Spread, I've joined 16 of my colleagues in suing the CDC to END the mask mandate on airplanes," Ms Boebert tweeted. "It should be a personal choice, not an unscientific mandate!"
Masking provides some limited protection to the individual wearing it, but mask use is primarily intended to keep individuals from spreading pathogens to other people.
According to the Transport Security Administration, it was working with the CDC and the federal government to devise a "revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor”.
The agency said the framework will be based on Covid-19 community transmission levels as well as any future emerging virus variants.
The lawsuit comes a week after a group of 90 Republican members of Congress wrote a letter insisting the TSA "follow the science" and drop the mask mandates.
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The letter argued that "eliminating the mask mandate will provide a safer travel experience for everyone involved" as it would help to reduce the number of "unruly passengers" who become irate when forced to wear a mask.
In 2021, there were a reported 5,981 incidents on flights involving passengers, with 4,920 involving masks in some way.