U.S. airlines gain final approval to drop services to 75 domestic
airports
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[June 04, 2020]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fifteen U.S.
airlines were granted final government approval on Wednesday to
temporarily halt service to 75 domestic airports as travel demand has
been crushed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Transportation Department said all airports would continue to
be served by at least one air carrier. Despite some objections to a
tentative list made public on May 22, the government did not make any
changes.
The U.S. airline industry has been awarded $25 billion in government
payroll assistance grants to help weather the pandemic. While carriers
must maintain minimum service levels to receive the assistance, many
petitioned to stop service to airports with low passenger demand.
The department has previously allowed some airlines to halt service to
some airports and rejected other requests.
Both United Airlines and Delta Air Lines won approval to halt flights to
11 airports. Allegiant Air was allowed to halt service to six airports,
while JetBlue Airways Corp, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines and
Frontier Airlines gained approval to stop flights to five airports each.
U.S. air carriers have said they are collectively burning through more
than $10 billion in cash a month as travel demand remains a fraction of
prior levels. They have parked more than half of their planes and cut
thousands of flights.
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Delta Air Lines passenger planes are seen parked due to flight
reductions made to slow the spread of coronavirus disease
(COVID-19), at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File
Photo
Cities that Delta can halt service to include Aspen, Colorado;
Bangor, Maine; Santa Barbara, California and Flint, Michigan.
United can halt service to airports including Chattanooga,
Tennessee; Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as well as
Key West, Florida.
Other airlines winning approval to halt some flights include
American Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Silver Airlines.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edwina
Gibbs)
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