Judge Strikes Down Airline Mask Mandate - TSA Stops Enforcing Masks for Travelers

Judge Strikes Down Airline Mask Mandate - TSA Stops Enforcing Masks for Travelers

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will stop enforcing the Biden administration's rule mandating masks on planes, trains and other forms of public transportation.

The move comes after a federal judge in Florida on Monday struck down the mandate -- and as COVID cases in half the U.S. are on the rise. 

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its statutory authority and failed to properly justify its decision.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

"Driving the news," reports Axios. "The suit was initially filed last July by the Health Freedom Defense Fund, as well as two other individuals."

According to the ruling, the Health Freedom Defense Fund is "a non-profit organization that 'opposes laws and regulations that force individuals to submit to the administration of medical products, procedures, and devices against their will.'"

"Because 'our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends,' the Court declares unlawful and vacates the Mask Mandate," the ruling said.

CNN reported Tuesday how the decision comes as cases are increasing in more than half of the 50 states. 

"But Covid-19 hospitalizations are close to their lowest level since the government began tracking that metric in July of 2020. As the use of at-home tests rises, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has warned that there is potentially a huge undercount of cases because those results often don't get reported," reported CNN. "They estimate that only about 7% of positive cases in the US are being detected -- suggesting that the case rates are 14.5 times higher than reported."