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Tampa Worldwide Airport and different native air services ought to get just a little wind beneath their wings because of the federal government’s newest $900 billion coronavirus reduction and stimulus package deal.
The brand new package deal will grant airports nationwide $2 billion in U.S. Division of the Treasury grants that can be utilized for something from staffing to sanitization to paying down debt.
The package deal contains at the least $200 million for concessionaire and tenant hire reduction, which has been a giant situation at main air hubs. Greater than a dozen corporations doing enterprise round Tampa Worldwide Airport — from carriers to concessionaires to rental companies — have laid off or furloughed greater than 1,000 staff.
The brand new cash comes months after the preliminary Coronavirus Help, Reduction and Financial Stimulus (CARES) Act supplied $10 billion to airports hobbled by the pandemic. Tampa Worldwide Airport obtained $81.2 million, spending greater than half of that to offset debt and losses.
“Simply because the CARES Act enormously helped us and our trade companions survive the immense lack of enterprise in 2020, this will even assist us keep present on debt funds, retain workers and keep operations as we sit up for extra restoration in 2021,” stated airport spokeswoman Emily Nipps.
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which operates the airport, doesn’t understand how a lot it’ll get this time round, Nipps stated, because the new system for reduction distribution has not but been set.
Different regional airports that obtained reduction cash within the spring includeSarasota-Bradenton Worldwide ($23.three million), St. Pete-Clearwater Worldwide ($8.7 million), Peter O. Knight ($69,000), Tampa Govt ($69,000), Zephyrhills Municipal ($69,000), Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional ($69,000), Clearwater Air Park ($30,000) and Albert Whitted ($30,000).
St. Pete-Clearwater spokeswoman Michele Routh stated the airport spent its reduction cash on payroll.
“We don’t have estimate for the following spherical as of but and haven’t made plans for its use till we’ve got extra data,” she stated.
The package deal requires most airports to retain at the least 90 p.c of their staffing stage from March 2020, adjusted for retirements and voluntary separations, by way of Feb. 15. Tampa Worldwide provided sure workers buyouts this fall, hoping to chop prices by $2.5 million.
The legislation additionally pledges to apportion 2022 and 2023 Division of Transportation funding to airports based mostly on passenger counts from 2018 or 2019, whichever is increased, somewhat than 2020.
Air carriers and contractors will even see cash from the brand new package deal. Carriers will obtain $15 billion to retain workers by way of at the least March 31; Airline contractors, similar to ticketing and catering staff, will obtain $1 billion. These funds are anticipated to undergo subsequent week.
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