Airline executives tell Trump: planes getting cleaner amid coronavirus concerns

US President Donald Trump met Wednesday with executives from some of the nation’s top airlines who said they have stepped up procedures to keep planes “clean and disinfected” amid concerns about the coronavirus. Executives from Southwest, United, American Airlines and JetBlue, among others, attended the meeting at the White House with Trump, VP Mike Pence and other top US officials. “It’s affecting the airline business, as it would. And a lot of people are staying in our country and they’re shopping and using our hotels in this country, so from that standpoint I think probably there’s a positive impact, but there’s also an impact on overseas travel which will be fairly substantial,” Trump said. He said the executives had not asked for financial assistance to make up for the hit to their businesses. The airline executives said the industry was taking measures to intensify aircraft sanitation. “We’ve stepped up our efforts to make sure the airplanes are clean and disinfected,” said Southwest CE Gary Kelly.<br/>