Passenger planes of American Airlines followed a collision where they parked due to flight reduction to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, at Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, US March 23, 2020.
Nick Oxford | Reuters
American Airlines is preparing for flights that serve two dozen medium-sized and small cities, such as the passing of federal aid to coronavirus that placed restrictions on carriers of carving approaches, according to an executive at the carrier.
Airlines are required to maintain minimum levels of service through Sept. 30 under a $ 25 billion federal aid package that also bans layoffs by the end of the third quarter. American was awarded $ 5.8 billion in support under the program.
The deal was intended to preserve both runways by providing relief and air service around the country, even though most planes flew with a fraction of their normal passenger tax. Regulators allowed airlines some exemptions in service.
The new cancellations for up to 30 destinations could appear in fall schedules as soon as next week, the executive American Airlines told CNBC. The person asked not to be identified because the changes have not yet been finalized.
Airline unions and transport operators themselves have urged Congress to provide another $ 25 billion in wage bill to keep paying workers through the end of next March, as demand remains depressed.
The proposal has received bipartisan political support from Congress and from President Donald Trump, but lawmakers and the White House have failed to reach a deal on a new, national coronavirus tool that would likely house additional airline assistance.
If the Department of Transportation Airplanes had to inform by August 1 if it extended the minimum service requirements.
“The department has not proposed extending the obligations, but will use the authority in the CARES law to control continuous access by the traveling public to the national air transport system,” a DOT spokesman said. “The department is also ready to implement any new provisions of the law in this area as enacted by Congress.”
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines declined to comment.
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