Transportation secretary: Airports and airlines will get billions for much-needed boost

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — Help is on the way for airlines and airports, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said. During the coronavirus pandemic, the suffering is obvious to anyone who walks into an airport like this one: Pittsburgh International Airport has seen passenger traffic in and out of the facility go from 26,000 people a day to fewer than 400 people boarding flights.

Walking through Pittsburgh International is surreal. Restaurants, bars, boutiques, and coffee shops are shuttered. The arrival and departure signs, typically so full it takes several moments to find your flight information, are nearly empty. The flights that remain are mostly marked CANCELED in bright red. The parking lot is empty.