Biden’s administration extended the current face mask mandate, which applies to aircraft, trains and buses, as well as airports and bus stations, to 18 January as part of efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s current face mask rule was due to expire on 13 September. But increasing cases of the Delta variant in the US are causing concern among health officials.
“The purpose of TSA’s mask directive is to minimise the spread of Covid-19 on public transportation," said a TSA spokesperson.
Reports in the US said that the country’s major airlines were informed of the mask rule extension on Tuesday (17 August).
US carriers are currently considering whether they will require employees to be vaccinated against Covid – earlier this month United became the first airline to rule that all US-based employees must be vaccinated by October.
