Two top House Democrats seek review of whether airlines used Covid bailout funds for staff buyouts

Two House Democrats person asked a Treasury Department watchdog to analyse whether airlines utilized a information of a national coronavirus alleviation bundle to wage for unit buyouts during the pandemic.

Airlines were prohibited from laying disconnected unit arsenic a information for accepting $54 cardinal successful payer assistance to upwind the Covid-19 pandemic. Travel request collapsed successful the aboriginal days of the crisis. However, carriers were capable to urge workers to instrumentality aboriginal status packages oregon extended leaves of absence. Thousands took them up connected the offer, including hundreds of pilots.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Committee connected Oversight and Reform, and James Clyburn, D-S.C., Chairman of the Reform Select Subcommittee connected the Coronavirus Crisis, connected Thursday asked the Treasury Department's watchdog to reappraisal however airlines utilized the Covid-19 assistance and whether it was utilized for buyouts oregon unit reductions, according to a missive reviewed by CNBC.

When question request rebounded sharply this year, airlines recovered themselves short-staffed, including successful cockpits. Some airlines similar American and United cut flights oregon grounded dozens of planes arsenic a result, peculiarly to tiny cities. Shorter routes are flown mostly by determination airlines, and airlines person hired hundreds of caller pilots from those smaller carriers to capable their ain ranks.

Labor shortages this twelvemonth person made it harder for airlines to retrieve from regular issues similar atrocious weather.

"As a effect of aviator shortages, thousands of flights person been delayed oregon canceled, wreaking havoc connected question plans for millions of American taxpayers," the lawmakers wrote successful their missive to the Treasury Department's Deputy Inspector General Richard Delmar.

Maloney and Clyburn asked the watchdog for preliminary results by Sept. 22.

U.S. carriers began 2020 with 456,398 full-time equivalent employees, which fell to 363,354 successful November of that year, according to the Department of Transportation. Airlines person been connected a hiring spree for much than a year, and successful June had 455,642 full-time equivalent employees.