White House to Discuss How to Help Airlines
10 April 2020 - 12:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Kate Davidson
WASHINGTON -- Officials will brief President Trump on Thursday
afternoon on their plans for assistance to airlines, which are
eligible for grants and loans as part of a $2.2 trillion economic
relief package, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said
Thursday.
"We hope to get to a lot of the airlines starting tomorrow and
over the weekend with preliminary information," he said in an
interview with CNBC. "It is our objective to make sure that, as
I've said, this is not a bailout, but that airlines have the
liquidity to keep their workers in place."
"That's the next big thing we'll be rolling out," he added.
The Treasury last week launched a new emergency-lending program
for small businesses and is backstopping several new credit
facilities the Federal Reserve announced Thursday to lend to
mid-size firms, and states and municipalities.
Details about the airline programs have trickled out over the
past two weeks. Several U.S. airlines, including American Airlines
Group, Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings, on Friday
applied for government funds to keep paying workers. But the
companies say they still need more cash as demand for travel has
all but evaporated amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Mnuchin said he thought the U.S. economy could be ready to
reopen by the end of May, "as soon as the president feels
comfortable with the medical issues."
"We are doing everything necessary [to ensure] that American
companies and American workers can be open for business and that
they have the liquidity that they need to operate their business in
the interim," he said.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2020 10:20 ET (14:20 GMT)
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