by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:26 AM ET, Wed April 8, 2020
The United States Department of Transportation announced Tuesday a new set of standards for airlines in America to follow to be eligible for the financial assistance provided in the recently passed CARES Act.
The final order establishing parameters for the distribution of the funds will require that carriers receiving financial assistance must maintain minimum air services on a nationwide basis, with some exceptions.
To ensure airlines maintain a defined minimum level of flights to communities they served before March 1, the Department of Transportation made adjustments to address seasonal services and the "potentially disproportionate impact of minimum service levels."
Officials said the service obligations for carriers would be pushed back to September 30, but the Department of Transportation maintains the right to extend as needed. Airlines had previously complained to the federal government, saying the original regulations were "impractical."
The new rules will allow U.S. carriers to either continue serving the same domestic destinations they operated before March 1 or during the first week of August 2019. Smaller airlines will also face less stringent minimum-service requirements when compared to the larger carriers.
As for the top airlines in the U.S.- American, Delta, Southwest and United-Travel Weekly reported they would be required to serve destinations previously flown with 25 weekly flights or more with at least five flights per week.
In addition, routes served between five and 25 times per week will require at least three weekly flights and destinations served less than five times per week must be served by at least one weekly flight.
As part of the CARES Act, airlines in the U.S. can receive up to $25 billion in federal payroll grants and $25 billion in federal loans.
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