American, United Airlines Cancel Around 27,000 Furloughs

Officials from American Airlines and United Airlines announce around 27,000 employee furloughs have been canceled after Congress passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

With the extension of the payroll support program included in the bill, American notified 13,000 employees and United told 14,000 workers who would have been furloughed in April they would no longer be at risk.

To be eligible for a portion of the $15 billion in aid, carriers across the United States must agree not to furlough workers before September 30.

American CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom sent a letter to employees telling them the warnings about furloughs they received in February are “happily canceled — you can tear them up!”

United CEO Scott Kirby also released a statement about the legislation.

“By extending PSP, our teams will be able to remain current in their training and ready to match expected future demand,” Kirby said. “Thousands of frontline workers will now receive paychecks and health care through September, which is especially critical while vaccine distribution continues to ramp up.”

While carriers are optimistic about an eventual recovery of the travel industry due to the strides being made with COVID-19 vaccines, passenger volume was down 66 percent in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Earlier this week, airline officials and other trade groups asked U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration to develop and deploy a temporary COVID-19 credentials system to help revive the battered travel industry.