U.S. airlines and the Treasury Department have reached an agreement in principle on billions in government aid aimed at softening the blow from the coronavirus, sources told CNBC.
The agreement comes as the virus and harsh measures to stop it from spreading, such as stay-at-home orders, have driven air travel demand to the lowest in decades. Carriers have raced to cut costs by grounding hundreds of jetliners and asking thousands of employees to take voluntary unpaid leave.
U.S. airlines including American, Delta, United, Southwest and others applied for portions of $25 billion in payroll grants that require airlines not to furlough or cut the pay rates of any employees through Sept. 30. The grants were part of the more than $2 trillion coronavirus relief package Congress passed last month.
Airlines are expected to provide detail on aid later Tuesday, two of the people familiar with the discussions said.
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Source: cnbc.com
