Airline workers brace for mass layoffs

Tens of thousands of workers of the airline industry are facing layoffs and furloughs on Thursday if Congress fails to pass a relief package.

Since the pandemic hit, thousands of flight attendants, baggage handlers, gate agents and others have been getting at least partial pay through $25 billion in grants and loans to the nation's airlines. To receive the aid, companies agreed not to lay off employees through Sept. 30. That "Payroll Support Program" helped many stay on, and keep health care and other benefits.

With air travel down about 70% from last year, many carriers say they'll be forced to cut jobs without additional aid. Delta and Southwest, two other big carriers, tapped private capital markets and say they'll avoid layoffs.

Industry analysts say fear of air travel and businesses keeping employees close to home have brought an unprecedented crisis to the industry, resulting in cataclysmic losses. The four largest U.S. airlines — Delta, United, American and Southwest — together lost $10 billion in the second quarter alone.

Fewer airline passengers also means less demand for rental cars, hotels and restaurants. With demand for new planes down, airplane manufacturer Boeing has cut thousands of jobs. The International Air Transport Association on Tuesday lowered its full-year traffic forecast. The trade group for airlines around the world now expects 2020 air travel to fall 66% from 2019, compared to its previous estimate of a 63% decline.

In the U.S., Congress has been considering a second round of airline aid for weeks, but it's hung up in the debate over a larger national relief package. The Airlines for America trade group said a House proposal unveiled Monday raises some hope because Democrats and Republicans appear to be talking. Layoffs could be delayed if a deal is imminent.

Allie Malis, an American Airlines flight attendant in Washington, D.C., also faces layoff Thursday.

"We're hoping for a counterproposal and for a possible stimulus bill to get passed, or at least serious negotiations to be signalled this afternoon. So it's crazy. Tomorrow I'm unemployed and today I'm waiting for Congress to do something," she says.

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