Washington DC March 18, 2022 The Transportation Security Administration has investigated more than 3,800 incidents of potential violations involving the federal mask mandate, assessing more than $644,000 in civil penalties, according to a report this week by the Government Accountability Office.

The TSA, charged with enforcing the mandate in airports and other public transportation settings, has issued more than 2,700 warning notices, the report said. It issued civil penalties in about 900 instances, roughly 24 percent of cases that occurred between Feb. 2, 2021, and March 7, 2022.

The average civil fine for violators was $699, the report said.

The GAO found the TSA generally did well at coordinating efforts with other agencies to enforce the mask mandate and other coronavirus-related security directives.

TSA extends federal mask mandate through April 18, 2022.

“While selected external stakeholders raised several issues with the security directives, they stated that TSA’s expedited coordination was generally effective,” the report said.

As part of the Cares Act, the GAO was tasked with monitoring and oversight of the nation’s response to the global pandemic. In addition, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, also requested the GAO review the TSA’s efforts to respond to the pandemic.

The TSA last week announced it was extending a federal mask mandate through April 18 that had been set to expire a month earlier. Since it was put into place last year, the requirement that people wear masks at airports and in public transportation settings has been extended four times.

In September, the TSA announced it was increasing the fines for those who refuse to wear masks from $500 to $1,000 for the first instance, and from $1,000 to $3,000 for repeat offenders.

The mandate has drawn criticism from some Republicans, including Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, who has lobbied to end the mask requirement.

Airlines began requiring customers to wear masks in mid-2020 as part of the effort to contain the spread of the virus. The Trump administration declined to put a mask mandate in place, but shortly after taking office, President Biden issued an order that required mask-wearing in all transportation settings.

While numerous studies show mask-wearing can reduce the spread of the virus, the mandate has been the source of conflicts on airplanes and in airports.

In instances where passengers’ refusal to wear a mask interferes with crew members’ abilities to perform their jobs, the Federal Aviation Administration can issue fines and refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution. The FAA received nearly 6,000 unruly-passenger reports in 2021, more than 4,200 of which were mask-related.

So far this year, it has received 814 unruly-passenger reports, 535 of which have been mask-related.

Washington Post

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