Marjorie Taylor Greene has been fined $48,000 for not wearing a mask on the House floor
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has been fined $48,000 for not wearing a mask on the House floor, according to a letter from the House Sergeant at Arms, obtained by CNN.
Greene has been fined 20 times for not wearing a mask. After receiving an initial warning in May, Greene was fined $500 for her first offense, and $2,500 for each subsequent offense, which is in line with House rules.
Greene has appealed at least one of her fines, but it was upheld. Greene was seen by CNN not wearing a mask on the floor Tuesday. The fines come from Greene’s salary.
The letter from the House Sergeant at Arms was first reported by The Hill.
Democrats implemented the rule last year amid the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instated the rule that members had to wear masks on the floor, many Republicans have evaded the rules and been fined as a result. Many GOP lawmakers continued to protest the mask rules long after the protocols were first instilled.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene has been fined $48,000 for not wearing a mask on the House floorErin Hooley
The airline and travel industry is anticipating a 2021 holiday season that will be much bigger than last year’s, but still down slightly from the 2019 holidays.
Southwest’s flight schedule is about 12% smaller than it was in 2019.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines is planning to put more than 6,400 flights in the air during its busiest day this season, Nov. 28, the Sunday following Thanksgiving, according to Diio by Cirium. That’s only about 5% fewer flights than it had in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet airline executives spent the last two weeks trying to convince travelers and investors that flight delays and cancellations plaguing the summer and fall months won’t be a repeat occurrence during the holidays.
Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it will further reduce its upcoming travel schedule — fallout from being forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights earlier this month because of weather and air traffic control backups during a single afternoon in Florida. Southwest said it had relied on staffing models that it used before the pandemic.
“We had 15,000 people that were out on leave so an assumption I made was that we were going to call them and say ‘OK, it’s time to come back,’ and they are going to show up and everything was going to be just like it was,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said. “And it’s just not.”
Aggressive flight schedules to capitalize on consumer demand can push airlines to a breaking point when all doesn’t go to plan. Southwest Airlines’ Columbus Day weekend schedule was its busiest since the pandemic began and the Florida-centered problems resulted in pilots and flight crews being out of sync with subsequent flights.
That meltdown was followed by rumors that pilots had walked off the job to protest a White House mandate to require COVID-19 vaccinations for federal contractors such as Southwest Airlines. Both the airline and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association denied any attempt by pilots to disrupt flights. However, the union has sued the airline in federal court to stop the mandate.
The CEOs at Southwest and American spent last week trying to assure employees that they wouldn’t be fired if they weren’t vaccinated, at least as long as they sought an exemption for religious or medical purposes.
“We are not going to let this disrupt any of our customers’ travel, especially during the busy holiday season,” Kelly said.
American Airlines President Robert Isom said demand is strong from passengers.
“We’re getting ready for the holiday season and we expect a lot of passengers and tremendous pent-up demand, especially as vaccinations take hold (and) infection rates decline,” Isom said. “We’re going to be ready. We’re doing our best to make sure that we have the right people in the right places at the right time.”
Erin HooleyThe airline and travel industry is anticipating a 2021 holiday season that will be much bigger than last year’s, but still down slightly from the 2019 holidays.
Southwest’s flight schedule is about 12% smaller than it was in 2019.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines is planning to put more than 6,400 flights in the air during its busiest day this season, Nov. 28, the Sunday following Thanksgiving, according to Diio by Cirium. That’s only about 5% fewer flights than it had in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet airline executives spent the last two weeks trying to convince travelers and investors that flight delays and cancellations plaguing the summer and fall months won’t be a repeat occurrence during the holidays.
Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it will further reduce its upcoming travel schedule — fallout from being forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights earlier this month because of weather and air traffic control backups during a single afternoon in Florida. Southwest said it had relied on staffing models that it used before the pandemic.
“We had 15,000 people that were out on leave so an assumption I made was that we were going to call them and say ‘OK, it’s time to come back,’ and they are going to show up and everything was going to be just like it was,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said. “And it’s just not.”
Aggressive flight schedules to capitalize on consumer demand can push airlines to a breaking point when all doesn’t go to plan. Southwest Airlines’ Columbus Day weekend schedule was its busiest since the pandemic began and the Florida-centered problems resulted in pilots and flight crews being out of sync with subsequent flights.
That meltdown was followed by rumors that pilots had walked off the job to protest a White House mandate to require COVID-19 vaccinations for federal contractors such as Southwest Airlines. Both the airline and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association denied any attempt by pilots to disrupt flights. However, the union has sued the airline in federal court to stop the mandate.
The CEOs at Southwest and American spent last week trying to assure employees that they wouldn’t be fired if they weren’t vaccinated, at least as long as they sought an exemption for religious or medical purposes.
“We are not going to let this disrupt any of our customers’ travel, especially during the busy holiday season,” Kelly said.
American Airlines President Robert Isom said demand is strong from passengers.
“We’re getting ready for the holiday season and we expect a lot of passengers and tremendous pent-up demand, especially as vaccinations take hold (and) infection rates decline,” Isom said. “We’re going to be ready. We’re doing our best to make sure that we have the right people in the right places at the right time.”
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Marjorie Taylor Greene has been fined $48,000 for not wearing a mask on the House floorPixabay
Travelers could be looking at a far different experience than last year.
Some Christmastime airfares are approaching what they were in 2019, said Adit Damodaran, an economist with travel website Hopper.
This year, the average roundtrip ticket for flying within the U.S. is selling for about $300 for Thanksgiving and $390 for Christmas, according to Hopper. That’s compared to 2020, when tickets were $245 at Thanksgiving and $250 at Christmas. Roundtrip tickets in 2019 were about $335 at Thanksgiving and $390 at Christmas.
That means this year’s fares are about 55% higher than last year, when prices hit the lowest point in decades due to weak customer demand.
“Things have really taken off in the last few weeks with the decrease in cases from the delta variant,” Damodaran said. “The best time to buy is usually before Halloween, before November starts.”
After vaccination rates took off in spring, more people grew comfortable with traveling over the summer months, said Erin Francis-Cummings, president of consumer research firm Destinations Analysts.
Now they’re ready to get back on planes again, she said.
“Connecting with family and friends is still the driver for the holidays,” she said. “It’s heart-warming to see that people still need one another and those connections are so powerful that they overcome some of the other worries.”
Holiday travel will be focused on domestic destinations, mostly people visiting friends and family. Once travelers arrive at their destinations, they’re likely to encounter other pandemic-related problems.
Hotels and restaurants are understaffed, said Ramsey, the Dallas travel agent. “You just can’t expect the kind of service you had before.”
Ramsey estimates that 50% or more of travelers are delaying trips, particularly major vacations.
“Before the delta variant spike, people were planning trips for Christmas, but then they started canceling in September,” she said. “It’s going to take time, maybe years, because this is the new normal. This isn’t going away.”
PixabayTravelers could be looking at a far different experience than last year.
Some Christmastime airfares are approaching what they were in 2019, said Adit Damodaran, an economist with travel website Hopper.
This year, the average roundtrip ticket for flying within the U.S. is selling for about $300 for Thanksgiving and $390 for Christmas, according to Hopper. That’s compared to 2020, when tickets were $245 at Thanksgiving and $250 at Christmas. Roundtrip tickets in 2019 were about $335 at Thanksgiving and $390 at Christmas.
That means this year’s fares are about 55% higher than last year, when prices hit the lowest point in decades due to weak customer demand.
“Things have really taken off in the last few weeks with the decrease in cases from the delta variant,” Damodaran said. “The best time to buy is usually before Halloween, before November starts.”
After vaccination rates took off in spring, more people grew comfortable with traveling over the summer months, said Erin Francis-Cummings, president of consumer research firm Destinations Analysts.
Now they’re ready to get back on planes again, she said.
“Connecting with family and friends is still the driver for the holidays,” she said. “It’s heart-warming to see that people still need one another and those connections are so powerful that they overcome some of the other worries.”
Holiday travel will be focused on domestic destinations, mostly people visiting friends and family. Once travelers arrive at their destinations, they’re likely to encounter other pandemic-related problems.
Hotels and restaurants are understaffed, said Ramsey, the Dallas travel agent. “You just can’t expect the kind of service you had before.”
Ramsey estimates that 50% or more of travelers are delaying trips, particularly major vacations.
“Before the delta variant spike, people were planning trips for Christmas, but then they started canceling in September,” she said. “It’s going to take time, maybe years, because this is the new normal. This isn’t going away.”
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