United Airlines CEO predicts airline mask mandate will expire in September

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby predicts that the airline passenger mask mandate will end in September.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on April 30 that the mask mandate in airports and on commercial planes would expire on Sept. 13, after an initial deadline was set for May 11.

"My guess is that the current government order expires on September 13 and, fingers crossed," Kirby told CBS' Face the Nation, "my guess is it will expire on September 13, but we'll wait and see for sure."

United Airlines CEO on mask mandate on planes: “The current government order expires on September 13, and fingers crossed, my guess is it will expire on September 13, but we'll wait and see for sure.” pic.twitter.com/RlwUK4RVe7

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 11, 2021

Personal air travel has recovered, "and leisure travel has 'more than 100 percent recovered,'" Kirby said, according to The Hill.

While he expects travel between Europe to "come back largely in full" as soon as the borders fully reopen, travel to Asia may take another 1.5-2 years to go back to normal, The Hill reported.

Business travel, however, might not ever go back to pre-pandemic normal, Kirby said.

"I don't think anything will be normal on the other side of this, but we expect that business demand is really going to pick up in September, mostly [when] the schools are back in, a lot of people are back in offices. But we don't think it really recovers in full until 2023," Kirby remarked.