The Allied Pilots Association (APA) sent to President Trump this week on behalf of the 15,000 American Airlines pilots it represents, urging an extension of the federal Payroll Support Program that ends after next month.
The airline industry had predicted a recovery by now, but APA spokesperson Gregg Overman said COVID-19 is still around so potential passengers are still afraid.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a dearth of things to do in the cities that we serve,so a lot of travelers have stayed away," Overman said. 鈥淭he demand for business travel is almost nil. If you look at the statistics for travelers passing through TSA portals it鈥檚 just flat out dismal.鈥�
Pilots support what the industry鈥檚 requesting 鈥� another $25 billion over 6 months. That could help prevent 19,000 furloughs, in the case of American Airlines. Overman said carriers are also considered critical infrastructure by the U.S. government.
Got a tip? Email Reporter Bill Zeeble at bzeeble@kera.org . You can follow him on Twitter @bzeeble.
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