In-Flight Disturbances Have Drastically Dropped Since Court Overturned Biden's Mask Mandate

Published|Updated

While flying these days is about as enjoyable as a visit to the dentist, those jumping on planes are being a lot friendlier to one another thanks to the removal of the mask mandate.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instituted the mask mandate on President Joe Biden's first day in office. Within six months, 85% of airline rule-breaking was related to masking, according to RealClearPolitics.

The rate of unruly passengers on U.S. flights in February was 6.4 per 10,000, but that number has dropped to 1.7 per 10,000 passengers following the removal of the mask mandate.

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The mask mandate was overturned by a federal court ruling in April, a year after the FAA began enforcing a no-tolerance masking policy to crack down on disturbances.

According to the numbers, it turns out that the masking policy was causing a majority of in-flight disturbances.

In other words, Biden's non-science-backed mask mandate was having the exact opposite effect he was hoping for.

Joe Biden and his mask. (Getty Images)

Biden Still Pushing For In-Flight Mask Mandate

Despite the data, the Biden administration is still looking to enforce the mandate and is challenging the April ruling that removed the mandate.

The organization behind the lawsuit that originally overturned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's measure, the Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF), is not sitting idly and is fighting the President's latest effort to enforce masks.

"Most administrations of the last 10 to 20 years have sought this kind of power," HFDF President Leslie Manookian told RCP. "It’s not just the Biden administration. It’s about increasing the power of the federal government as well as people who are not elected, and it’s not a partisan issue. They all want more power and are getting it through these emergencies."

At the moment, no major airlines in the U.S. are enforcing a mask mandate for passengers.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.