A group of airline chief executives on Thursday met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to request more aid for the industry, which is set for mass layoffs next month, CNBC reports.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly attended the meeting with Meadows, who said after the meeting that President Donald Trump would consider a separate stimulus package to prop-up the airline industry, having said last month that he is weighing an executive action on the issue.
Various airlines already received $25 billion in federal coronavirus aid through the CARES Act, keeping them from laying off workers until the end of September, but airlines and labor unions are calling for an additional $25 billion to protect jobs until the end of next March.
“We had a very good meeting with the chief [of staff],” Southwest CEO Kelly said after the meeting. “The first CARES Act kept this country out of pandemic and I think the only mistake that was made is that it didn’t go far enough and long enough.”
Parker added that “We airline CEOs are here on behalf of the people that work for us ... keeping our country moving when our country is largely paralyzed. Without action they’re going to be furloughed on Oct. 1 and it’s not fair.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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