CDC order will remain in place at this time," the agency said in a statement on Wednesday. There has been a slight increase in cases in recent weeks in the US, with daily confirmed cases nationwide rising from about 25,000 per day to more than 30,000.
More than 85% of those cases are the highly contagious BA.2 strain. Those figures could be an undercount since many people now test positive on-at-home tests that are not reported to public health agencies.
Airlines see the mask rule as a hindrance that puts their staff in an enforcement role and has been pushing the US government to end it.
However, as Covid case numbers rise in some parts of the US, mask mandates have crept back. Philadelphia said it will reinstate its mask rule starting April 18.