Travelers on airplanes, trains, buses and in airports and train stations should be prepared to continue to wear masks for holiday travel and into next year.

The White House is expected to extend the transportation mask mandate through Jan. 18, according to reports from Reuters and CNBC.

The news comes as the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 continues to sweep the nation, with mask mandates returning to some destinations and mask sales climbing again. 

The federal mandate, which was put in place on Feb. 1, was originally due to expire May 11 but was extended in April through Sept. 13. 

USA TODAY has reached out to federal officials for comment. 

The current rule includes fines for people who don’t comply and exempts travelers under the age of 2 and those with certain disabilities.  

Airlines dealing with backlash of mask requirement

Airlines began requiring masks early in the pandemic but have faced resistance from a minority of passengers and long sought the federal government’s support.

Reports abound of passengers refusing to wear masks and becoming aggressive with flight crews. 

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents nearly 50,000 flight Attendants at 17 airlines, released a statement Tuesday saying the extended mask mandate would help keep passengers and aviation workers safe, especially amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

“We have a responsibility in aviation to keep everyone safe and do our part to end the pandemic, rather than aid the continuation of it,” Nelson’s statement said. “We all look forward to the day masks are no longer required but we’re not there yet.”

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, chairman of industry lobbying group Airlines for America (A4A), said in July, before the delta variant surge, that Southwest and the trade group were not recommending another extension of the federal transportation mask mandate.

Kelly, answering reporter questions during Southwest’s quarterly earnings conference call, said airlines support following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on masks, which says vaccinated individuals don’t need one but unvaccinated individuals should wear one.

Unless that advice changes, he said, “we wouldn’t advocate from Southwest’s perspective, or the A4A for that matter, extending the mandate.”

Kelly is the first U.S. airline executive to publicly express what is in effect support for letting the mandate expire, though United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he expected it to be lifted in September.

“What they decide, we’ll enforce,” American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said earlier in July on the airline’s quarterly earnings conference call. “It’s not for us to opine.”

Contributing: Dawn Gilbertson