US: Airlines squeezed by delays in $29b US rescue package
US airlines’ desperate bid for $29b in government rescue cash is being frustrated by a lengthening process and demands that companies provide more detailed financial information, people familiar with the situation said. Carriers that filed April 3 for the grants intended to help meet payroll costs expected the checks to begin arriving days ago, said people familiar with the aid discussions. Instead, US Treasury officials have asked for another round of data that appears to be more related to a separate loan process instead of the cash grants, further delaying the relief, the people said. The federal stimulus bill provided for carriers to receive payments within 10 days after the law was signed March 27. That would have been Monday, though the legislation gave Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin discretion on the timing. The additional demand for information was so detailed it would take more than a week to review all the submissions, one person said. “Treasury’s preliminary guidance did not provide applicants with clear direction on a number of critical items,” two US senators from Illinois wrote to Mnuchin in a letter Wednesday. Senator Tammy Duckworth and Senator Dick Durbin called on the agency “to make sure the confusing application process doesn’t hamper the ability of applicants to receive the funds intended for them.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-04-09/general/us-airlines-squeezed-by-delays-in-29b-us-rescue-package
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US: Airlines squeezed by delays in $29b US rescue package
US airlines’ desperate bid for $29b in government rescue cash is being frustrated by a lengthening process and demands that companies provide more detailed financial information, people familiar with the situation said. Carriers that filed April 3 for the grants intended to help meet payroll costs expected the checks to begin arriving days ago, said people familiar with the aid discussions. Instead, US Treasury officials have asked for another round of data that appears to be more related to a separate loan process instead of the cash grants, further delaying the relief, the people said. The federal stimulus bill provided for carriers to receive payments within 10 days after the law was signed March 27. That would have been Monday, though the legislation gave Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin discretion on the timing. The additional demand for information was so detailed it would take more than a week to review all the submissions, one person said. “Treasury’s preliminary guidance did not provide applicants with clear direction on a number of critical items,” two US senators from Illinois wrote to Mnuchin in a letter Wednesday. Senator Tammy Duckworth and Senator Dick Durbin called on the agency “to make sure the confusing application process doesn’t hamper the ability of applicants to receive the funds intended for them.”<br/>