Travelers at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport react to end of mask mandate

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Travelers now have the choice of whether or not they want to mask up.

It’s the first time in two years that passengers on planes, trains and buses can take their masks off.

At Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport, some passengers are wearing masks, while others are going without them. Even the employees, some of them choosing to mask up and others taking full advantage of that mandate dropping.

Officials out at Blue Grass Airport say, for their part, they’ve followed the lead of the TSA throughout the pandemic.

Now that the mandate has been struck down, officials say that they are going to follow that lead, opening the door for passengers to make the choice for themselves.

“TSA will no longer be enforcing the mask mandate within the airport and certainly recommend reaching out to your air service provider directly for information about your specific flight,” said Lauren White, Blue Grass Airport community relations manager.

The mandate was just recently extended by the CDC before the judge’s ruling came down.

Some people we spoke with told us they really felt indifferent to the mask mandate going away, saying it wasn’t a big deal, but others said they would prefer everyone look out for their fellow passengers.

“I think it’s the right thing to do. Better safe than sorry,” said Babawande Majekodunni.

“I mean, it doesn’t really bother me,” said Aimee Padgett. “It’s kind of nice to not have to go through long flights with the mask because it gets uncomfortable, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Blue Grass Airport officials say they will continue to take down some of the signage that says masks are required, but some of the other precautionary steps, like the hand sanitizer stations, will more than likely stick around.

Copyright 2022 WKYT. All rights reserved.