Travel Mask Mandate Struck Down: Here’s What NYC Needs To Know

Matt Troutman
Updated ·4 min read

NEW YORK CITY — The list of places where New Yorkers are absolutely required to wear masks just got shorter.

A federal judge struck down a federal mask mandate for travelers Monday and unleashed mid-flight waves of uncovered faces on airplanes. Officials nationwide, including in the Big Apple, scrambled to react to the decision.

Many welcomed the rule’s end as a return to normal after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, but others raised concerns that it came as a new viral wave appeared poised to strike.

So, what does it mean for New York City? Where are people required to wear masks?

Short answer: MTA subways and buses, yes. Everywhere else, maybe-slash-no.

Here’s the long answer.

Wait, what happened?

A federal judge in Tampa, Florida issued a 59-page ruling Monday effectively quashing a Transportation Security Administration directive requiring masks for airplanes, airports, taxis and other forms of mass transit. The judge found the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in issuing the original health order on which the TSA directive was based.

In plain English, the judge found the TSA rule was built on shaky ground and needed to be thrown out completely.

So can I just go maskless on airplanes and subways now?

Not exactly.

The ruling gives entities room to keep their mask rules in place. And that’s what is happening in New York City.

MTA subways and buses will keep a mask requirement based on a state rule, officials quickly announced.

“The mask requirement on public transit in NY remains in effect for now pursuant to a March 2, 2022 determination by the New York State Department of Health,” said Tim Minton, an MTA spokesperson, in a statement.

The situation at airports is more complicated.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials announced Tuesday afternoon that they’d follow the state’s guidance. That means LaGuardia and JFK airports, in addition to several other hubs, will continue requiring masks.

Those are:

  • Port Authority Bus Terminal

  • George Washington Bridge Bus Station

  • World Trade Center Oculus Transportation Hub

  • LaGuardia Airport

  • JFK International Airport

But, confusingly, Newark Liberty International Airport won’t require masks because of New Jersey rules. PATH trains, being interstate, will continue to require masks.

TSA officials, meanwhile, announced they wouldn’t enforce mask rules.

“Due to today’s court ruling, effective immediately, TSA will no longer enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs,” a TSA statement reads.

Individual airlines, however, quickly made clear they’d no longer require masks on their flights.

Some airplane passengers learned about the lifted rule mid-flight.

Sleepy passengers on a Delta flight between Atlanta and Barcelona, Spain, cheered, whistled and applauded when a flight attendant announced the news as they flew over the ocean.

“No one’s any happier than we are,” the attendant says in a video posted by Dillon Thomas, a CBS Denver reporter, who was on the flight.

She added that people who wanted to keep on their masks were encouraged to do so.

“But we’re ready to give ém up,” she added. “So thank you and happy unmasking day!”

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines all rescinded their mask rules.

What about taxis and ride-hailing companies?

Yet again, the situation is complicated.

Well, sort of.

“Masks are still required in all taxis and for-hire vehicles,” the Taxi and Limousine Commission tweeted Tuesday morning.

The tweet followed hours of silence from the entity overseeing taxis and ride-hailing companies in the city. In that time, Uber and Lyft both announced would no longer require masks.

But TLC officials make the rules, meaning it appears face coverings are here to stay for now.

So where is a mask still required in the city?

Mayor Eric Adams last month lifted strict mask requirements for businesses and schools.

But there are some major exceptions, in part because businesses, entertainment venues, museums and other institutions can set their own rules.

Broadway theaters, for example, will keep requiring masks until at least May 31. Likewise, people in hospitals and other health care setting must wear masks.

And while students kindergarten through 12th grade don’t have to wear masks, kids in pre-K classrooms and daycare facilities will still be required to wear masks, in part because children under 5 years old are not eligible to be vaccinated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on the New York City Patch