Allay the Fear and Restore Sanity in the FAA by Executive Order – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

As headlines describe increasing “cases” of a new virus variant, exacerbating fear yet again about COVID, it is time for President Trump to calm the public.

First, the president’s public health leadership should remind the public that SARS-CoV-2 is now an endemic virus. Like all other endemic viruses, including the four other coronaviruses in circulation, it will never disappear. It will also have relatively low lethality and be seasonal, with mild symptoms for all but the highest risk populations. (RELATED: The Wages of COVID — Part One)

The FAA’s Overreaction to COVID Fears

But the president himself can act to instill the public’s confidence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by removing key employees who demonstrate they lack the requisite judgment and mental fitness to act rationally in emergencies. (RELATED: Bhattacharya Did Not Follow the COVID Herd)

One way to accomplish both is for President Trump to issue an executive order prohibiting mask use by FAA personnel and related aviation employees, as authorized by the Constitution and law, including the Federal Aviation Act of 1965, as amended in 49 U.S.C. § 40101 et seq.

The rationale and policy outline of the executive order are straightforward. The safety of America’s aviation system depends on the mental sharpness and reliability of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel, including pilots, air traffic controllers, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, and airline staff like flight attendants. After all, the FAA consistently stresses safety as its top concern, from its mission statement to numerous press releases.

As its Aviation Safety (AVS) organization states, “Safety is our primary mission. Everything we do is focused on ensuring the highest level of safety in the aviation system.” That would certainly encompass eliminating key personnel in air transportation who exhibit irrational behavior that would alarm the public, including actions implying they are not fit for critical positions of responsibility for safety in emergencies.

First, commercial aircraft are extremely low risk for airborne infections like COVID. Aircraft employ unique ventilation systems coupling High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters with frequent air exchanges. International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health report aircraft cabin air is renewed every 90 seconds to 3 minutes, with a 50 percent mix of fresh outside air and 50 percent HEPA-filtered recirculated air that removes 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria, including for COVID.

Data from 2020-2021 support the efficacy of those systems. In fact, no documented large-scale COVID outbreaks have been linked to commercial air travel, aside from reports of scattered cases. A study of 1,100 passengers with confirmed COVID who had recently flown found that among 125,000 passengers on those flights, only one additional passenger and two crew members were suspected of in-flight transmission.  Another review of 50 flights from January 2020 to April 2021 found evidence of limited in-flight transmission, but no large-scale outbreaks.

Second, it is contrary to a multitude of scientific studies and therefore irrational to maintain the false contention that surgical or other masks prevent the spread of COVID. Reviews of all randomized trials and other studies, including those published by the CDC, prove that masks, including surgical and N95 types, do not stop SARS-CoV-2 or other viral respiratory infections. This virus (0.06–0.14 micrometers) is smaller than surgical mask pores (0.3–10 micrometers), rendering them ineffective — indeed, the FDA notes that surgical masks do not protect against airborne infections. Particle reduction claims are irrelevant, as only infection prevention matters, and masks fail this test. Global data show case surges even in high-mask-compliance countries like Japan and South Korea.

While this new executive order prohibits mask-wearing in aviation personnel while performing duties, including air traffic control, aircraft operation, passenger screening, and in-flight safety tasks, air carriers should also train personnel on mental resilience and public trust. The FAA and air carriers should offer psychiatric counseling and leaves of absence to aviation personnel who might feel masks are needed for protection against COVID or other viruses, to address potential fear or anxiety affecting their duties.  Educational materials should be distributed to inform personnel of data proving mask inefficacy, low aviation transmission risk, and the irrationality of masking for low-risk viruses like the common cold and the flu.

It should be a priority policy of the United States to ensure that aviation personnel demonstrate confidence and rational decision-making. Masking for a low-risk endemic virus is as absurd as masking for the common cold and the flu, signaling poor judgment. Masks should be prohibited in order to maintain trust and ensure personnel who lack the logic, appropriate sense of reality, and temperament for operational readiness in the most stressful emergencies are not present in FAA operations.

Scott W. Atlas, MD, is a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and was Special Advisor to the President during fall 2020.

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