Major American airlines have asked the US Treasury to move quickly to release up to US$58 billion in government grants and loans and recommended a formula to divide up the money, according to Reuters.
In a letter dated Saturday and seen by Reuters, carriers wrote that "given the urgent and immediate need, it is essential that these funds be disbursed as soon as possible."
The letter was signed by the chief executives of American Airlines , Delta Air Lines , United Airlines, Alaska Air Group , JetBlue Airways Corp , Southwest Airlines Co , Hawaiian Airlines and Atlas Air Worldwide.
It was also signed by senior executives at UPS Corp and FedEx and the head of an airline trade association.
The US$2.2 trillion stimulus and assistance legislation signed into law Friday by President Donald Trump gives passenger airlines US$25 billion in cash assistance to cover payroll costs and US$25 billion in loans, while cargo carriers are eligible for US$4 billion in grants and US$4 billion in loans.
The airlines said Treasury should allocate grants in accordance with salaries and benefits paid by carriers from April 1 to September 30, 2019.
The letter suggested the loans be divided by each passenger carrier's pro rata share of "system available seat miles" for 2019 operations. For cargo carriers it said the loans should be divided by "revenue ton miles" for 2019 operations.