Since early on in the pandemic, if you wanted to fly, you had to wear a face mask. While the very early days of the pandemic saw extremely little air travel with many planes grounded and staff out of a job, the desire to travel increased as the holidays approached in 2020.

As travel increased, we also saw multiple instances of passengers getting kicked off airplanes for refusing to wear a face mask. Since a face mask was required to be on an airplane, many of these passengers were forcefully removed from the planes.

Now, things have changed. We are moving to an endemic phase with Covid-19. Many things have gone back to normal that were abnormal that first year. Kids are in school. Offices have reopened. The most recent change is that face masks are currently not required on airplanes.

If you’re one who was anxiously waiting for the face mask mandate to drop before booking your next flight, you’re probably thrilled right now, but if you’re immunocompromised, you might have concerns about traveling.

TODAY’s Craig Melvin talked to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby about the end of the mask mandate, and he asked some very important questions like if the mask mandate will be coming back and if it’s safe to be in an airport without a face mask. Watch the video below to hear his answers to these questions as well as to learn more about what United Airlines is doing for customers who still don’t feel safe flying.

Have you flown on an airplane during the pandemic? Would you feel safe flying on an airplane without wearing a face mask, or would you continue to wear a face mask even without the mask mandate? Do you think the mask mandate for airplanes and airports really is gone for good?