by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:50 AM ET, Thu March 4, 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) updated its safety protocols Wednesday and recommended airlines continue to enforce mandatory facial covering requirements for flights.
According to the FAA's Safety Alert for Operators, carriers are being told to follow United States President Joe Biden's mask mandate for airplanes, as well as the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In January, the CDC issued a mandatory mask requirement for all passengers and crew members on airplanes and public transportation, but government officials in Texas announced they would be eliminating their mask requirements due to a drop in COVID-19 cases.
"The CDC and FAA are providing this additional occupational health and safety guidance for air carriers and their crews to reduce crewmembers' risk of exposure to COVID-19 and decrease the risk of transmission of COVID-19 on board aircraft and to destination communities through air travel," the FAA's Safety Alert for Operators read.
The FAA safety protocol update also includes new guidelines that mirror the recent CDC orders requiring that all international visitors arriving in the U.S. must provide a negative COVID-19 test result.
In addition, CDC officials updated their aircraft cleaning recommendations and started asking carriers to "report travelers with specific symptoms like fever and persistent cough, difficulty breathing or appearing obviously unwell to health officials."
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