The US agency overseeing air travel, the FAA, on Tuesday announced that it would begin distributing $ 8 billion in aid to US airports to help them overcome challenges related to the pandemic. These subsidies were provided for in the massive $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package adopted in March, shortly after Joe Biden came to the White House.
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If air traffic has started to recover with vaccination campaigns, airports have suffered heavily from the drop in the number of passengers since the start of the pandemic at the same time when they had to put in place new health measures. The money is intended to reimburse operational expenses, pay interest on loans and cover costs related to the fight against the spread of viruses, a statement said. The airports will also be able to use the subsidies to raise the rents owed by the stores installed in their premises.
To receive aid, they must commit to continuing to employ at least 90% of the workforce they had before the pandemic. Government grants will allow “to keep workers employed (at airports) and to help the aviation industry recover (from the crisis) even as more Americans get vaccinated and start traveling againTransport Minister Pete Buttigieg said in the document.
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