At least 202 aviation companies double-dipped into federal programs designed to prop up struggling businesses during the coronavirus pandemic — to the tune of about $1 billion, according to a Washington Post review of federal data. The companies include a Chicago catering firm under investigation by Democrats in Congress for laying off almost 900 workers this spring; an Ohio aircraft maintenance business that closed an office and put 52 people out of work just days after securing a loan of at least $5 million under one of the programs; and a Wisconsin airline that has warned of hundreds of temporary layoffs come fall. Earlier this month, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, a new government watchdog, questioned the practice of letting companies benefit from both programs, saying that it “was not obvious” why airlines in particular would need help twice over and that it planned to monitor the issue. “Creating multiple programs resulting in multiple forms of financial support to a single individual or entity may well be sound policy,” the inspector general’s office wrote. “But in such circumstances, the risk of fraud and abuse increases and questions arise.” In March, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program, which provided forgivable loans to small businesses of all kinds. But lawmakers also singled out the aviation industry for special help through grants known as the Payroll Support Program. All told, companies are in line for $700 million under the aviation program, receiving grants based on their payroll for a six-month period last year. The loans in the small-business program are worth at least $186 million.
