Time is running out. It’s absolutely critical that lawmakers and the White House return to the table and extend relief for hundreds of thousands of pilots, flight attendants, and other aviation workers who face potential furlough as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn. On September 30, the CARES Act Payroll Support Program will expire, and many aviation workers will be out on the streets and in the unemployment line through no fault of their own. This harm to workers is entirely avoidable, and it’s in our national economic interest to prevent such a tragedy.

For the past several weeks, ALPA pilots, their friends and families, and the flying public have reached out to every U.S. lawmaker from both parties, urging them to come together and reach an agreement to provide continued economic relief for aviation-sector employees. Through ALPA’s Call to Action, more than 300,000 letters have been sent to Congress advocating for a clean extension of the Payroll Support Program. This massive grassroots effort has reached every member of the Senate and House of Representatives, and more than 120,000 tweets have reiterated the importance of this continued support for frontline aviation workers and an industry that is a major driver of the American economy.

Time is running out. It’s absolutely critical that lawmakers and the White House return to the table and extend relief for hundreds of thousands of pilots, flight attendants, and other aviation workers who face potential furlough as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn. 

Unless Congress acts to provide a financial backstop when the CARES Act Payroll Support Program expires on October 1, pilots and other airline employees will be forced to empty their savings, drain their retirement, delay seeking health care, and sacrifice their children’s future.

More than 11,000 airline pilots represented by ALPA have received notice of potential furlough, and without a clean extension of the CARES Act Payroll Support Program, hundreds of thousands of employees are at risk of losing their jobs and health insurance benefits on October 1, 2020. But ALPA is not alone in calling on Congress for help.

Airline passengers and airline workers have a tremendous stake in whether Congress recognizes the vital importance of the U.S. airline industry and its workers to the recovery of the U.S. economy. As a flyer, you can help save hundreds of thousands of jobs—and the U.S. airline industry—by urging Congress to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program, which expires on October 1.

Congress has returned to session in Washington, D.C., and lawmakers have just over two weeks to pass legislation that extends the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act through March 21, 2021—an action that would stave off layoffs for thousands of airline pilots when the current funding expires on September 30, 2020. As many airlines have already indicated a significant reduction in workforce once the funding ends, ALPA remains steadfast in reinforcing its calls to the U.S. government to help save hundreds of thousands of aviation jobs through a clean extension of the CARES Act.