Republican Senators in the US have introduced a bill that would give the ailing airline industry more than $28 billion in additional aid. The bill comes just ten days before airlines are allowed to cut jobs following the end of the $32bn CARES package that protected workers until the end of September. The new bill – which would provide from $11 billion in new aid and more than $17 billion in funding and loans that went unused in the last bill – would also protect jobs until the end of March 2021.
“We’re grateful for the continued show of broad, bipartisan support in Congress for our team members and our industry, and we appreciate the willingness of these senators to take action to avoid imminent furloughs and air service cuts when the Payroll Support Program expires next week,” said American Airlines in a written statement.
American expects it will have to furlough or layoff some 19,000 employees starting next month, while United Airlines may need to cut about 16,000 jobs.