“Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, wrote Friday to the CEOs of American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Republic, and Allegiant airlines, asking them about reports of pilot, flight attendant and worker shortages and to account for the use of the $54 billion in federal relief to keep workers employed that was contingent on no layoffs,” reports CNN.
“Cantwell wrote that she is “concerned that, at best,” the airlines “poorly managed its marketing of flights and workforce as more people are traveling, and, at worst, it failed to meet the intent of tax payer funding and prepare for the surge in travel that we are now witnessing.” The senator also requested a staff briefing from each of the airlines by the end of the month.”
“At the industry’s request, Congress created the Payroll Support Program to provide loans to airlines to support the pay and benefits of workers. The three rounds of billions in federal payroll support for the airline industry barred layoffs, involuntary furloughs or pay cuts for employees. Airlines, however, furloughed employees during lapses in the federal aid. To further cut costs, airlines offered voluntary buyout and early retirement packages, and requested that workers take voluntary unpaid or low-paid leaves.”