(WWJ) -- If you're taking a plane, train or bus anytime over the next several months -- be ready to keep wearing that face mask.
The TSA says it will extend the face-mask rule on public transportation.
The mandate was scheduled to expire September 13, but will now be extended until January 18, 2022.
"Extending the federal mask mandate for travel makes sense for the current health environment and has the travel industry's full support," U.S. Travel Association executive vice president of public affairs and policy Tori Emerson Barnes said in a statement. "The universal wearing of masks in airports and on airplanes, trains and other forms of public transportation is both an effective safeguard against spreading the virus and boosts public confidence in traveling — both of which are paramount for a sustained economic recovery."
The rule has been controversial and has led to many encounters between passengers who don't want to wear a mask, and flight attendants who have been asked to enforce the mandate.
Still, the extension was expected after a recent surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly-transmissible Delta variant has led many organizations and venues to reintroduce mask requirements.
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