U.S. airline executives met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to get more aid for their industry before they are forced to lay off workers next month.
“Without action, they’re [workers] are going to be furloughed on Oct. 1, and it’s not fair,” Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines, told reporters after the meeting.
The CARES Act enacted in March provided the airline industry $25 billion in aid as long as no workers were furloughed before Oct. 1. With that deadline less than two weeks away, roughly 30,000 airline jobs are currently at risk.
The airline executives asked Meadows for an additional $25 billion in aid, which would be expected to keep workers employed through March 2021.
Meadows assured those attending the meeting that the White House is very interested in getting something done.
“Without speaking directly for the president, I think it would be well received by the administration,” he told reporters after the meeting.
Currently, progress has stalled on Capitol Hill moving another relief package. Parker noted that aid to the airlines has bipartisan support but lamented the fact that there was no legislative vehicle to advance it.
“There’s enormous bipartisan support for an extension of the payroll support program. … The only problem we have is we don’t have a vehicle for getting it done,” he said.
Meadows raised the prospect of a stand-alone bill, which he said would have to happen next week. Stand-alone bills are difficult as members of Congress try to add their pet provisions to the legislation, which can hamper its passage.
Since the pandemic hit the nation, the airline industry has suffered financially, as people are fearful of infection. The number of travelers going through TSA checkpoints is down by roughly three quarters.
