US: Airlines, labor unions push for a third round of federal aid with travel demand still depressed

Some airline executives and labor unions are seeking a third round of billions in federal aid as tens of thousands of workers again face furloughs with travel demand still depressed in the Covid pandemic. The current round of aid, $15b, expires on April 1, and American Airlines and United over the past week have warned they could cut a combined 27,000 jobs then. Those funds required airlines to call back workers who were furloughed in the fall and maintain current jobs. “Essential workers have been living with incredible chaos and uncertainty. The furloughs are felt by the entire workforce,” Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the country’s largest flight attendants union, said in written testimony at a House hearing Thursday on transportation during the pandemic. “A continuation of [payroll support] can’t wait.” Congress set aside $25b in aid designed to keep employees on the payroll at the start of the crisis last year that required them to maintain jobs until Oct. 1. A $15b aid package was passed in the latest coronavirus relief bill in December that has the same terms through March 31. Airlines and labor unions now want another $15b to guarantee jobs through Sept. 30.<br/>