This is politically a blessing before the election.
Masks on flights is a losing topic for dems, and half the Dem House asked Biden to overrule the CDC. This put him in a shit spot, because the other half said no. Now he can fight the ruling, but not ask for an injunction. This gives science a chance to study the data, blame Florida if it goes as predicted, and the new variant is highly contagious but hospitalizations are nearly non-existent.
And yes, Darwin will handle those in flight.