Relief bill gives airline and airport workers a reprieve, for now

The pandemic relief bill that President Biden signed Thursday afternoon will protect tens of thousands of aviation jobs, providing a lifeline to an industry that is likely to struggle for some time even as vaccinations accelerate. After Congress this week approved the legislation, which includes $14b for airlines and an additional $9b for airports and other businesses, American Airlines and United Airlines told 27,000 employees that they could ignore the furlough notices they had received in recent weeks. The airlines had issued the warnings, which are legally required in advance of sweeping cuts, as they prepared to carry out the furloughs at the end of this month when an earlier round of federal aid expired. The new bill extends that assistance through September. “If you have one of those WARN Act notices we sent out in February, tear it up,” Doug Parker, American’s chief executive, said in an Instagram video. “There aren’t going to be any furloughs at American Airlines in April and, with vaccinations on the rise, hopefully never again.” <br/>