Supreme Court leaves TSA mask requirement ruling in place  

The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling that allows the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to require mask-wearing on planes, trains and other forms of transport.  

California lawyer Jonathan Corbett had argued that the TSA did not have the authority to mandate masks on airlines and surface transportation, like buses and trains, when it did so during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found no merit in Corbett’s claim and affirmed the TSA did have the agency to maintain security and safety within the transportation system, including imposing the masking requirement. 

The Supreme Court’s Monday move leaves the precedent in place, denying Corbett’s request to consider “the D.C. Circuit’s broad expansion of agency authority.”  

The TSA stopped enforcing a mask mandate in April of this year after the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ mask mandate was struck down by a federal judge in Florida.