Fifteen U.S. airlines were granted final government approval yesterday to temporarily halt service to 75 domestic airports as travel demand has been crushed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. The U.S. Transportation Department said all airports would continue to be served by at least one air carrier. Despite some objections to a tentative list made public on May 22, the government did not make any changes. The U.S. airline industry has been awarded $25 billion in government payroll assistance grants to help weather the pandemic. While carriers must maintain minimum service levels to receive the assistance, many petitioned to stop service to airports with low passenger demand. The department has previously allowed some airlines to halt service to some airports and rejected other requests. Cities that Delta can halt service to include Aspen, Colo.; Bangor, Maine; Santa Barbara, Calif., and Flint, Mich.. United can halt service to airports including Chattanooga, Tenn.; Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as well as Key West, Florida. Other airlines winning approval to halt some flights include American Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Silver Airlines.
