(FiveNation.com)- A group of 309 pilots and flight attendants from 35 states who work for 16 airlines filed arguments with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit late Monday night, urging the court to prevent the Transportation Security Administration from issuing another Federal Transportation Mask Mandate in the future. The submission of their friend-of-the-court brief came only hours after a U.S. District Judge ruled down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s order requiring masks and ordering the Transportation Security Administration to implement the policy, which has been in place since Feb. 1, 2021.
Janviere Carlin said it was a pleasant surprise to learn of Judge Mizelle’s decision yesterday, vacating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) unlawful Federal Transportation Mask Mandate.
Carlin of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, is a JetBlue pilot based in Boston coordinating the massive number of signatures on an amicus curiae brief.
Despite the significant ruling that struck down the CDC’s capacity to compel masking, they continued to submit their brief in the Wall v TSA case because they ‘are not deluded into believing that this government would give up so easily.’
The airline employees contended in their 36-page brief, which included 17 exhibits, that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should be permanently barred from issuing health directives that have nothing to do with transportation security.
Pilots and flight attendants complained to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the Transportation Security Administration’s mask mandate violates Federal Aviation Administration safety regulations; creates chaos in the sky, putting aviation safety and security at risk.
The agency failed to consider that airplane cabins pose little risk for coronavirus spread; masks pose serious health risks to humans who are forced to wear them, including those who work in the transportation sector.
The document states that they are bound to the Mask Mandate every hour they are working, except for pilots on duty in the cockpit.
In contrast to passengers who only have to suffer forced masking when commuting on public transportation, they are required to impede their oxygen intake practically all of the time while at work. This endangers their health and jeopardizes the safety of commercial aircraft.
In addition to their final opening brief, the 13 petitioners, 11 of whom cannot wear masks due to medical conditions, filed a letter stating their intention to continue prosecuting the case despite TSA’s announcement yesterday that it would stop enforcing the mask mandate.
Two disabled women who Delta Air Lines discriminated against because they could not wear masks, and the Advocates for Disabled Americans wrote papers supporting the plaintiffs.
Carlin and many other signers are members of Americans Against Mask Mandates. This group has filed 14 lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the mask rule, including one filed last month by ten pilots and nine flight attendants, among others.
Carlin said they would continue to fight against illegitimate mandates, demand accountability in our government and its agencies, and never forget that they work for us, the people, and not the other way around.
TSA’s role has always been limited to security issues, such as preventing intentional attacks on our transportation system, according to the 309 pilots and flight attendants, just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lacks legal authority from Congress to mandate what travelers put on their faces.
The agency’s top priority was to avoid repeating September 11, 2001. There has never been any authorization or funds for the Transportation Security Administration to execute a general safety mission, such as preventing accidents from occurring — much less a public health purpose.
