Local airports end mask mandates

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Both the Pocatello Regional Airport and the Idaho Falls Regional Airport have lifted its mask requirement in the facility and on outgoing flights.

This comes after U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle voided the Biden administration's mask mandate on Monday. 

Tomekia Whitman says she didn't even know the decision had happened. 

"I was in Salt Lake and I didn't even hear about it or anything," Whitman said. "I just saw everybody taking their masks off and somebody had mentioned something about it. I talked to a flight attendant that was walking by and she's said you don't have to wear it I still wore it for the flight, and then when I got off, I just took it off to just be respectful of everybody else around me."

Whitman says their was a noticeable difference between what it was like pre-pandemic and now. 

“It was like even," Whitman said. "I would say like 50-50. A lot of people were wearing masks or taking them off during the flight."

SkyWest flight attendant Brenda Ford says it was nice to interact with the people face to face.

“Some people chose to wear and that was great," Ford said. "Everybody treated them just the same way. It was all good, and it was great to see smiles again and happy people.”

Ford says she's pleased to know that those long hard days breathing through a mask all day are finally over.

"We have our twelve-hour days, and I had two thirteen-hour days just in the last two days, and it's a long day with the mask on," Ford said. "I do have an appreciation for those people who do have to wear them all the time, but I’m glad we don't have to wear them anymore."

With the mandate being lifted, Ford says she hopes that results in more travelers this summer. 

"People were worried about the virus and a lot of people who used to fly didn't fly as much," Ford said. "So, I think by lifting the ban with the masks and showing that things are getting better, we'll see more flying."