US: Mnuchin says virus ‘worse than 9/11’ for airlines, vows help

Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said the coronavirus outbreak has hurt US airlines worse than the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, and he and president Donald Trump promised federal aid to the industry and suppliers, including Boeing. “This is worse than 9/11 for the airline industry, they are almost grounded to a halt,” Mnuchin said at a White House news conference alongside Trump. “The president wants to make sure that although we don’t want people to travel unless it is critical, we want to maintain for critical travel the right to have domestic travel.” The US airline industry Monday asked the govt to provide almost US$60b in grants and loans. It is unclear how much Trump will sign on for, according to a person familiar with the matter. <br/>