What are your thoughts about travel in the time of Covid?

I doubt it. I don’t even notice masks anymore at the grocery store, and I’m pretty sure most everyone is the same way. You do you :slight_smile:

3 Likes

I saw an opinion piece by a court system expert who believes that the DOJ will wait until the existing mask mandate order expires on May 3 then ask the appellate court to vacate the lower court’s decision because the situation no longer exists. That will avoid having the case go up the system and perhaps become the law of the land to erode the CDC’s authority to make public health decisions. Then I guess if the infectious rate skyrockets and hospitals get overwhelmed, a new mandate can be put into effect and start a new legal case.

So they would not ask for a stay on the lower court’s decision, which would keep the suit in the system.

(I sure have learned a lot about the Federal court system in the last several years!)

2 Likes

I’ll take that as win either way. In the mean time, I have nowhere to fly to, so I’m definitely not losing sleep over this.

I’m not losing sleep (any more) but may be flying in two weeks for the first time during the pandemic - to visit son for Mother’s Day. But he is concerned with my safety so I am planning on doing all I can to protect myself since it seems like there will not be a reinstatement of the mask mandate.

1 Like

This is just my personal opinion. I’m more concerned about removing the mask mandate on busses, commuter trains and other ways of public transport. Not flying.

I read that the average person flys around 5 hours a year. The air on the airplane is pretty clean. Although flying before Covid, I picked up viruses so I was happy flying with a mask and will continue to do so. I’m that person wiping down my seat and will mask. I’m also vaccinated. I don’t want Covid but I also am resigned that I won’t be lucky forever.

But I can mask on a plane and I can avoid public transport because I’m privileged. Many others are not.

But I’d also like to not take off my shoes and I definitely want to bring more than a quart of liquids. Where was the public outrage? But this is the world we now live in.

8 Likes

Waiting to board VA flight to London. Maybe 10 people have masks . I will wear one until takeoff as one of them. Afterwards will remove My husband is not

Waiting to board my flight from Chicago back to Baltimore. Gate agents are not masked (all of TSA were wearing masks). Probably at least 50% of the people at the gate are wearing masks. I have 10 people sitting in the row with me and across and all are masked.

On my flight to Chicago, which was the day after the mask mandate was lifted, it was probably about the same breakdown. I was hoping whoever sat next to me would have a mask. She did not. I had moved to the middle seat to sit next to my daughter and deliberately turned my back to the woman so I was sitting turned toward my daughter. I guess she felt bad because she ended up putting a mask on, albeit a cloth mask.

Interesting to note that here at the gate, many of the unmasked are elderly.

2 Likes

What’s the big deal about having to wear a mask on public transportation? We’ve been wearing masks for two years and no one has suffocated as a result. Masking has clearly reduced the number of infections and therefore the number of deaths. With no masking requirement, it’s nearly certain more will be infected and some of them will die.

16 Likes

United is giving refunds to people if they don’t want to fly without mask.

10 Likes

I was hoping airlines would do that. I cancelled a flight in early January during the surge and was going to use the banked dollars in June. I have to use them within a year. Frustrating.

I agree about public transportation- many hours per week for many people to get to work or school, and no choice about it.

LA is requiring masks for public transportations, airports, bus and train stations

3 Likes

Philly dropped its indoor mask mandate after 4 days. It was unenforceable.

1 Like

We still have on masks on public transportation in Boston.

1 Like

There may be people still wearing them, but the MBTA lifted the requirement.

Amazing. United refused to give us refunds when events were canceled in 2020 for Covid reasons…but now they are giving refunds. I’m glad they are doing this…but….

1 Like

I ride the bus 2x a day and haven’t seen a mask less passenger yet. And the electronic signage on the front of the bus still says face coverings required. Wierd

2 Likes

Glad to hear it. Haven’t been on the T yet, but I will still mask. I was surprised the MBTA lifted it, but many they interviewed on the news said they will still wear it. We fly from Boston to NC on Tuesday. We will be masked, as will D,who is flying from Orlando. She will be stuck sitting next to people.

I live in an area that has lots of people in the medical field, that may be one reason I haven’t seen any maskless riders yet.

4 Likes

Not surprising. In 2020 airlines desperately needed cash and couldn’t find buyers for the empty seats. Today prices have risen so fast and demand is so high that any older tickets sold at low prices a few months ago can easily be replaced with new customers paying a lot more for those seats.

2 Likes

My tickets were NOT low price. We got vouchers and used them for a different flight because the event was after the two year mark for voucher use. We just rebooked for the original flights for this year when the event is happening and the ticket prices were exactly the same!