In a post-Omicron world, anything less than a K95 mask is theatre IMO. A plane (or subway car or restaurant) full of people in cloth or plain surgical masks is basically at the same risk as a plane full of people without masks. In the real world, the masks that 99.9% of the public wears are pretty much worthless.
It's like rubbing a rabbits foot but it provides the illusion of safety, so here we are.