With help from Brianna Gurciullo and Debra Kahn
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— Airlines say they’ll give refunds to passengers with high temperatures — if TSA will do the screening.
— The GAO gave a glimpse into the process of distributing CARES Act funding for airlines and transit agencies.
— The House Rules Committee will meet on Monday to set a rule for the infrastructure debate.
IT’S FRIDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. Don’t get too used to Tanya’s byline; Sam is back — get in touch with tips, feedback or song lyric suggestions at [email protected] or @samjmintz.
LISTEN HERE: Follow MT’s playlist on Spotify. What better way to start your day than with songs (picked by us and readers) about roads, railways, rivers and runways.
TIT FOR TAT: Airlines for America isn’t giving up on the idea of TSA checking passengers’ temperatures. On Thursday, the trade group said its members would provide refunds to customers if they were screened and told their temperature is too high to fly, our Brianna Gurciullo reports. Here’s the catch, though: That commitment is conditioned on the federal government doing the temperature screenings, and it hasn’t committed to any such thing.
Like requiring masks to be worn on board, standardized temperature checks would be a “layer of protection” to reassure jittery would-be travelers that it’s safe to fly again, the airlines hope.
A TSA spokesperson said that “no decision has been made regarding specific health screening measures at airports.” Some public health experts have said temperature screenings aren’t effective at combating the coronavirus, and the idea has also raised civil rights and civil liberties concerns.
CRACKDOWN ON MASKS: After A4A said last week that its members were “stepping up enforcement” of requirements to wear face coverings, the CEO of Delta Air Lines told employees on Thursday that the carrier has “already banned some passengers from future travel on Delta for refusing to wear masks on board.” Delta’s Ed Bastian also noted that the airline has started a testing program for employees. Testing for Covid-19 and antibodies is currently taking place in the Minneapolis and Atlanta areas, and Detroit and New York City are next.
Good news/bad news: Bastian also said Delta plans to add about 1,000 daily flights in July and up to 1,000 additional flights the following month. Still, he said, “we expect our overall demand this summer to be only 25 percent of last summer’s revenue, and we likely remain at least two years away from a return to normal.” After August, Delta is “unlikely to add many more flights for the remainder of the year,” he said.
AIRLINES HEAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY: The heads of major U.S. airlines are set to meet today with Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials to discuss a range of coronavirus-related travel issues, Reuters reported. The meeting is expected to include the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue.
The discussions are expected to include the industry’s push to convince the federal government to mandate temperature checks for passengers and the potential EU travel restrictions on U.S. travelers, the story says.
AVIATION WORKERS ASK CONGRESS TO FORESTALL THE ‘INEVITABLE’: Unions representing pilots, flight attendants, machinists and other aviation workers called on lawmakers on Thursday to extend the CARES Act’s payroll-support program through the end of March 2021. In a joint letter, the unions said the aid has prevented mass layoffs — which, they warn, will be “inevitable” if Congress doesn’t act by the end of September. They propose that airlines and contractors receive a second round of assistance equal to what the Treasury Department awarded under the CARES Act, H.R. 748 (116).
CREWMEMBER RELIEF: The FAA says it’s extending some “regulatory relief” to a new set of pilots amid the pandemic. A final rule set to appear in the Federal Register amends a so-called special federal aviation regulation the agency issued in late April. “The amended relief applies to new persons who may have challenges complying with certain training, recent experience, testing, and checking requirements,” according to the new rule. It makes clear: “Except for medical certification, no individuals who obtained relief under the original SFAR will receive an extension of that relief.”
DON’T MAKE ME: American Airlines has asked that DOT continue to exempt it from being required to serve three points in Hawaii through Sept. 30. American, like all the other airlines that have received CARES Act aid, is subject to service requirements by DOT. The department has already allowed American to suspend service to Hawaii through part of August. But American says in its new request that it “does not believe that the demand for service to these destinations will improve noticeably for many months,” in part because it’s unclear when Gov. David Ige will lift restrictions on travel by out-of-state visitors.
CARES ACT PROGRESS REPORT: The Treasury Department has signed off on about $27 billion in payroll assistance to airlines and contractors as of June 1, according to a new GAO report released on Thursday. So far, Treasury has made about $17 billion in initial payments. Treasury officials told the GAO that the biggest challenges with implementing the $32 billion program “have been related to standing up a time-sensitive economic relief program while staff are working remotely, and processing applications from smaller aviation businesses,” which “often feature incomplete or incorrect information.”
Meanwhile, the department is fielding about 200 applications for separate loans. Together, those applicants have asked for more than $34 billion, according to the GAO’s report. The CARES Act included $46 billion for loans to airlines, ticket agents, repair stations and “businesses critical to maintaining national security.”
As for transit: As of May 31, FTA had awarded 291 grants and obligated about 58 percent of CARES Act transit funding but disbursed just $3.2 billion. Of the $30 million allocated to tribal transit funding, about $8 million has been obligated and about $100,000 disbursed. And 288 more grants were in progress, according to FTA officials. Most of the funds so far have gone to operating expenses, which are not usually eligible for FTA funds.
So far so good: The GAO had no major complaints about how FTA is administering the CARES Act transit aid, though it did reiterate a February recommendation that the agency work on its communication, especially to ensure that states and other transit providers are made aware of funding opportunities for rural transit.
RULES RULES THE ROOST: The House Rules Committee plans to meet on Monday to craft a rule that will govern the debate over the Democrats’ $1.5 trillion infrastructure package, H.R. 2 (116). More than 300 amendments were submitted to the committee before its deadline on Thursday, plus some stragglers that rolled in late. Note: The committee allowed exactly zero amendments for the last six bills for which it set rules.
GREEN TRUCKS COMING TO THE GOLDEN STATE: California regulators on Thursday approved a first-in-the-nation sales mandate for electric trucks, reports Debra Kahn from our California team. The California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule will start in 2024 with requirements for zero-emission trucks to make up 5 percent to 9 percent of sales, depending on truck size, and gradually increase through 2035.
Trump trouble: California will likely need a waiver from the Clean Air Act in order to implement the rule, so if President Donald Trump wins reelection, it might run into trouble with the EPA, which revoked the state’s waiver for its zero-emission sales targets for passenger vehicles.
TAX HOLIDAY: The United Auto Workers asked Democratic leaders recently to suspend the 12 percent federal excise tax on the purchase of new heavy-duty trucks and trailers until the end of 2021, saying a predicted 50 percent drop in U.S. truck sales this year due to the coronavirus and the economic slump “has hit manufacturing workers hard.”
Former Chicago and D.C. DOT chief and Cityfi co-founder Gabe Klein has joined the board of advisers of Automotus, a company that uses video analytics to help “analyze, monetize and enforce all forms of curb activity.”
— “Pakistan to ground 150 pilots for cheating to get licenses.” The Associated Press.
— “Airbus Americas CEO says state travel restrictions ‘not helpful,’ urges consequences for no masks on board.” CNBC.
— “’Floating on air’: Virgin Hyperloop signs deal with key jet parts maker.” Reuters.
— “The rise and fall of the Segway, the oft-mocked 2-wheeler that was supposed to revolutionize the way we get around cities.” Business Insider.
DOT appropriations run out in 96 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,192 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 96 days.
