Is It Time to Start Masking Again on Airplanes? (2025)

To mask or not to mask.

COVID-19 rates are spiking again, with more than half of U.S. states reporting “very high” levels of COVID-19 activity.

But does that mean travelers should start wearing masks on airplanes again? The federal mandate to wear a mask on U.S. air carriers expired in early 2022, and since that time, the choice of whether or not to wear a mask has been up to individual passengers.

Airlines have also largely ceased making announcements related to masks—for a time, there was a common announcement reminding passengers that masks were no longer required and that passengers should respect fellow travelers’ decisions to either wear or not wear a mask.

Now, the only mask-related announcement is one to inform passengers they must remove their mask before donning an oxygen mask in the event of a loss of cabin pressure.

COVID-19 is now considered endemic, meaning it circulates normally within a population at a normal or expected level. Vaccines have also largely negated some of the more serious symptoms associated with COVID-19, and many people who contract the virus now experience only mild respiratory symptoms—if they experience symptoms at all.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or suspect they may have COVID-19 should stay home while they recover. It’s worth noting, however, that COVID-19 can still be spread by people who do not have symptoms at all.

In that case, masking is a matter of personal choice. At least one study has examined the link between mask mandates on aircraft and the related incidence of air rage. Following the end of mask mandates, reported incidents of air rage settled back toward their normal range, but remain higher than before the pandemic.

When the U.S. public health emergency for COVID-19 expired in May 2023, the CDC’s information pages on wearing masks dropped specific recommendations for wearing them on aircraft, and transitioned to providing best practices for people who choose to wear masks for a variety of reasons, including having respiratory symptoms and being unable to avoid traveling or being in crowded places.

It’s also worth noting that although the cabin environment onboard an aircraft is certainly close quarters, it’s an exceptionally well-ventilated one. Contrary to popular belief, aircraft passenger cabin air isn’t completely recycled, and commercial airliners in the United States are subject to stringent air quality standards (to be certified, passenger aircraft must be designed to provide 0.55 pounds of fresh air per minute per occupant). Fresh outside air is sucked in through the jet engines, warmed, pressurized, and pumped into the passenger cabin where it circulates through a medical-grade HEPA filter, then goes back outside through exit valves. The cabin air completely changes—on average—every 90 minutes.

There are other reasons, in addition to COVID-19, that travelers may choose to wear masks. Travelers with reduced immune function are typically advised to wear masks in most places where they come into contact with others, as are those who live with or are often around those with reduced immune function. There are certainly also travelers for whom it’s important not only to wear a mask, but to be seen wearing a mask, telegraphing their choice to anyone who might notice.

In any case, the smoothest way to travel—either with a mask or without—is to remember that the choice to wear one is ultimately personal and that commenting on another traveler’s choice to wear a mask (even if they’re clearly demonstrating symptoms) aren’t likely to be welcome or appreciated.