The Trump administration is proposing that a significant amount of the $25 billion in cash that airlines expected to keep workers on the job will instead be low-interest loans that big airlines will have to repay, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The Treasury Department began sending proposals for aid to airlines on Friday. American Airlines and United Airlines confirmed receiving responses to their applications for grants. They said they were reviewing the Treasury proposals, and they did not provide details.
Other major airlines either said they had not received proposals yet or did not respond for comment.
Negotiations between Treasury and the airlines were expected to intensify over the weekend.
As part of a $2.2 trillion economic-relief bill approved two weeks ago, Congress set aside $25 billion in grants and another $25 billion in loans for passenger airlines. The industry has been devastated by a plunge in travel caused by the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 100,000 people worldwide, including more than 18,000 in the United States.