We are in unprecedented times with the challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic. Congress and President Trump took an important step last week to address these challenges when they passed and signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. We face an extraordinary task in the coming months, and the CARES Act provides needed relief to face this challenge.

Among other things, the bill included $32 billion in grants and $29 billion in credit assistance for the airline industry. This was a wise move: For the United States to return to economic strength and for our supply chains to remain intact, we need our airline industry to stay functioning and whole. The airline industry is vital to our economy, representing about 5% of our GDP, with millions of employees and trillions in annual economic activity. The scale of the government’s aid is critical when you look at the impact the industry will have in getting our economy back to normal.