The FAA, which provides air traffic control
across the country, declined to comment on
whether the agency was considering ordering a
shutdown. “We don’t comment on speculation,”
said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. “The FAA
is focused on the health and safety of its
workforce while continuing to provide a safe air
transportation system.”
Airport towers at Chicago’s Midway International
Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las
Vegas remained closed Tuesday, nearly a week after
shutting down because some employees tested
positive for the new coronavirus. FAA workers at
eight other facilities have also tested positive.
Administration officials have repeatedly
declined to rule out the possibility of halting
domestic airline travel while saying no such
shutdown was imminent. Trump said Monday
he was not considering new travel restrictions.
“They thought we were going to have bans within
the United States. We didn’t do that,” he said at a
White House briefing. “We are not going to have
that. Hopefully that will take care of itself.”
The airlines and their labor unions are lobbying
Washington for relief. A proposal by Senate
Republicans would provide $50 billion in loan
help and another $8 billion for cargo carriers,
but the airlines say they need cash grants to
avoid layoffs in an industry that employs about
750,000 people.
House Democrats propose $40 billion in grants
to airlines and contractors to preserve pay
and benefits for workers. Democrats would
add provisions including telling airlines to cut
carbon emissions in half by 2050 and to include
labor union representatives on their boards.