United States President Joe Biden was urged to retract the COVID-19 mandates in place for travel — including mask and testing requirements– by CEOs of 10 airlines. The company executives signed a joint letter addressed to the White House.

The CEOs of the following companies signed the letter on Wednesday: FedEx Express, Atlas Air Worldwide, UPS Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, according to reports from CNN.

Also Read: Global rise in COVID cases just ‘tip of the iceberg,’ says WHO

“Now is the time for the Administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions — including the international pre-departure testing requirement and the federal mask mandate — that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment”, the signed letter from ‘Airlines for America’ read.

The letter insisted that the current COVID-19 requirements set in the United States do not seem necessary anymore as overall cases of coronavirus infections have seen a downfall since February this year.

However, the director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rochelle Walensky warned that a new wave of infections may soon come the country, citing concerns about the BA.2 variant of coronavirus.  The new strain, which reportedly now accounts for more than 35% of the cases in the country, seems to be more transmissible than its previous versions.

Also Read: Israel discovers new variant of coronavirus: Here are 5 things to know

White House said earlier this month that it the end of the transportation mask mandate will be moved to April 18, 2022, according to reports from CNN.

The White House added that federal agencies of the government will coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on wheater the travel mandate could be removed sooner and if it could be brought back if required.