Frequent Flyer to Sue after TSA & Southwest Block Him from Boarding Flight without a Mask at MCO

Washington, D.C., Man to Challenge Federal Transportation

Mask Mandate as Illegal; Will Also Sue Southwest Airlines

I’m stranded at MCO after TSA and Southwest Airlines refused to let me board my flight maskless

June 2, 2021

By LUCAS WALL

ORLANDO, Florida – A frequent traveler unable to wear a mask was stopped from boarding his Southwest Airlines flight this morning from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale despite having submitted the required exemption form to the airline two days ago when he booked his ticket.

The Transportation Security Administration would not let Lucas Wall, 44, of Washington, D.C., through its checkpoint. Multiple TSA supervisors consulted with Southwest managers for about an hour before finally telling Wall they would not let him fly. The airline violated the Air Carrier Access Act, a federal law that requires airlines to accommodate passengers with disabilities, Wall contends.

TSA Denies Me Entry to Security Checkpoint at Orlando (MCO) for Refusing to Wear a Mask

Wall, who is fully vaccinated, was also denied transportation when he attempted to board a LYNX transit bus from the airport to downtown Orlando because he didn’t have on a mask. The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority operates the Orlando region’s LYNX bus system.

Wall, who suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder that causes hyperventilation and panic attacks when he tries to cover his mouth and nose, has drafted a lawsuit against TSA, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, President Joseph Biden, LYNX, and others seeking to immediately enjoin enforcement of the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate as illegal and unconstitutional. Research indicates this will be only the second lawsuit in the country challenging TSA’s enforcement of the FTMM, and the first in the nation to contest President Biden’s executive order requiring masks in the transportation sector as well as CDC’s order carrying out the president’s wishes.

“I strongly oppose any mask mandate on numerous grounds including that it’s a violation of my civil liberties to be ordered to block my nose and mouth, my only two sources of oxygen; face masks have proven to be totally ineffective in reducing COVID-19 infections and deaths (as shown in numerous scientific studies released lately); and researchers have identified dozens of health problems that occur among maskwearers,” Wall said. “It’s extremely frustrating – especially as a fully vaccinated person – to be denied the ability to travel because of these outrageous mask orders that go against the CDC’s May 13 guidelines.”

A mask mandate enforced by LYNX violates Florida Executive Order 21-102, signed May 3 by Gov. Ron Desantis, Wall argues. The order prohibits any governmental agency from requiring face coverings. Desantis wrote that “the policy of the State of Florida will favor a presumption of commercial operation and individual liberty with no toleration for unending and unjustified impediments to that liberty.”

“A Face Mask Is Mandatory” sign next to the boarding door of a LYNX bus

Florida is one of 10 states that never had a statewide mask mandate. Wall contends the FTMM violates states’ rights under the Constitution’s 10th Amendment, among numerous other legal arguments.

Wall, a former transportation reporter and editor, has been taking care of his mother in The Villages, Florida, during the last several months of the pandemic. He has eight airline tickets booked for summer travel, which was supposed to start with Wednesday’s flight to Fort Lauderdale.

“I can’t tolerate wearing a mask,” Wall said. “I have never covered my face. Blocking my nose and mouth causes me to instigate a feeling of a panic attack, including hyperventilating and other breathing trouble. The federal government has no legal authority to require I wear a mask while traveling.”

He plans to file the suit by the end of this week in the U.S. District Court in Orlando seeking a judge’s order to permanently ban enforcement of the requirement that airplane, bus, train, ferry, cruiseship, and other transportation passengers and employees obstruct their breathing. CDC on May 13 changed its COVID-19 guidance to advise fully vaccinated Americans not to wear masks. But it has refused to revoke the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate, which TSA currently plans to enforce at least through Sept. 13.

Wall plans next week to file a separate lawsuit against Southwest Airlines for violating the Air Carrier Access Act in refusing him a mask exemption even though he completed the required form.

Join my new Facebook group Americans Against Mask Mandates.

Donate to my legal fund on GoFundMe at Help End Federal Transportation Mask Mandate.