A4A CEO voices support for extending mask mandate

Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas Calio voiced support for extending the federal mask mandate past May and for the development of a “roadmap to recovery” that would enable international travel during a Senate subcommittee hearing. The federal policy provides an additional layer of enforcement for the face covering requirements that US airlines have been proactively enforcing since June 2020, which will remain in place for the duration of the pandemic. Calio also stated that the organization supports the use of digital health passports as long as they are voluntary and temporary. “We support a digital health certificate, so it’s uniform, and I can flash-up on my iPhone and show, to someplace or some country that has a requirement, that I have been vaccinated or tested of my own accord,” Calio said.