What happens in the post-mask world of travel? Here is what you need to know.

A ruling by a federal judge has ended — at least for now — the requirement that people wear masks on planes and public transportation, and there is plenty of confusion about the new, post-mask world of travel.

Despite these moves south of the border, Canada is not ready to do the same. In a statement to CityNews, the federal government says there is no change to the policy here, adding the top priority is keeping Canadians safe.

The decision by a lone judge in Florida toppled 14 months of government insistence that travellers wear masks to reduce transmission of COVID-19. Within hours, all major U.S. airlines and many airports announced — sometimes to passengers in the middle of flights — that travellers could take off their masks.

Here is what you need to know about the world of post-masking.

What does this mean?

On the ground, requirements could vary from place to place. Toronto’s public transit system could keep its mask requirement in effect. This depends on the medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore.

Moore has stated that the masking mandate for public transit and some other sectors could be extended past April 27.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, assured that mask mandates for air travel would remain firmly in place, even as major airlines south of the border drop the requirement for passengers and crews. Trudeau and Canada’s Transport Minister reiterated that masks are still required on all flights that arrive in or depart from Canada.

Uber and Lyft said they wouldn’t require passengers to wear masks. Some local taxi companies, such as Beck Taxi in Toronto, said a mask mandate would remain.

How safe is it to travel now?

Air filtration on planes is generally excellent, but boarding and exiting a plane can put people close together in spaces with poor ventilation, said Dr. Babak Javid, a physician-scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. The risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 on other forms of transportation varies.

Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said planes can carry the virus from place to place, but that we should be focusing more on big indoor events such as concerts and sporting events — even large weddings — where people get together and talk, shout and sing.

Related articles: 

• International travellers must wear a mask for 14 days after returning home to Canada

• Vaccinated travellers to Canada no longer need to be tested for COVID-19

In Canada, new rules around travel were put into effect on April 1 that loosened restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers, making it easier to hop on a plane.

While fully vaccinated travellers do not have to present a negative COVID-19 test when they arrive back in Canada, there are still some rules they must follow. Every traveller must still complete their ArriveCan form within 72 hours, which details a quarantine plan and allows them to upload their proof of vaccination.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Florida, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in issuing the original health order that the Transportation Security Administration used to impose the mask mandate. Photo: Unsplash.

Should I still mask up on planes?

The CDC continues to recommend that people mask up indoors while travelling.

Masks still give some protection from COVID-19, but they work better if others wear them too.

High-quality masks work in two ways, said Carl Bergstrom, a University of Washington evolutionary biologist who studies emerging infectious diseases: They protect the wearer by limiting the number of infectious particles inhaled, and they protect others by limiting particles exhaled if the wearer is infected.

Will wearing a mask make me stand out?

No. It’s whatever makes you feel most comfortable while flying.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, who favoured dropping the rule, said before the judge’s order that he expected to see a “surprising number” of passengers and airline employees wear masks even after the mandate expired.

“I may choose to wear a mask once in a while,” he said.

Still, tension among passengers over mask-wearing could continue, said Eileen Ogintz, who writes about family travel and advises parents of small children who can’t be vaccinated to keep masking up.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you got some dirty looks or nasty comments” from unmasked passengers, she said. “That’s a conversation to have with the kids ahead of time — why you’re wearing masks.”

How does the lifting of masks impact International flights?

When flying between two countries, expect your airline to follow the rules in whichever country is more restrictive. Passengers flying to Canada, for example, will have to don masks at some point during the flight, but it’s not clear exactly whether that means when crossing into Canadian airspace or some other point.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Atmosphere Research Group, said there might be international airlines that will still require masks even on flights to and from the United States.

Can I get a refund if I do not want to fly?

Likely not, unless the airline cancels your flight.

However, if you call the airline and explain why you’re not comfortable travelling without a mask mandate, most will let you change the flight for free or give you a credit that you can use later, said Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights travel site.

Is the timing right?

Apparently, for the U.S. it is. Not for Canada, just yet.

New reported U.S. cases of COVID-19 are relatively low compared with the past two years, but they have increased lately and are likely an undercount. Hospitalizations are nearly flat and deaths are still declining.

Dowdy, the Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, said it’s reasonable to consider removing the mask mandate on travel given the lull in severe disease.

“It would just be nice to do it when cases are falling rather than rising,” he said, “and for the decision to be made by people trained in public health rather than law and politics.”

As for what happens if cases or hospitalizations increase, that might not be enough to revive the mask rule. It could roil travel in other ways. U.S. airlines cancelled thousands of flights in late December and early January, largely because so many employees were out sick with omicron.

“Imagine what would happen if a critical mass of Southwest Airlines pilots are sick and can’t fly this summer?” said Harteveldt, the travel analyst. “

“Whether it’s Southwest or any airline, it could be highly disruptive to summer travel.”