The U.S. Senate on Saturday passed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, the third stimulus package in the last year, after a marathon voting session that spanned two days.
So what’s next for the hard-hit airline industry and tourism in general?
Here’s what we know so far.
– For starters, the bill has to go back to the U.S. House of Representatives for a final vote. Normally, the House votes first for a bill followed by the Senate. In this instance, that protocol was indeed followed, but Senators on both sides of the aisle added, removed and changed so many provisions in the bill that there are key passages that look nothing like what the House previously approved. So it’s back to the Representatives for another vote that should be just a formality. That will take place as early as Tuesday.
– The bill will provide another $14 billion for eligible airlines and $1 billion for contractors to the air carriers to extend a payroll support program set to run out on March 31, according to the Dallas Morning News. That would make more than $50 billion in aid to the airlines through the three COVID-19 relief packages. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the lobby group for most of the world’s airlines, expected the industry to lose $157 billion in 2020 and said full recovery won’t begin until 2022.
– The legislation also includes $8 billion for airports to make changes to facilities or personnel to prevent the spread of the virus.
– The legislation gives monies to help other aspects of tourism, including $25 billion to restaurants struggling from pandemic lockdowns and closures, and $1.25 billion for venue operators. It is not known yet what that might mean for Broadway in New York City, shuttered for almost a year now. Live theater contributes more than $12.6 billion to the NYC economy annually.
