[Senate Hearing 117-766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





                                                        S. Hrg. 117-766

                          PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF:
                  AMERICA'S SAFE RETURN TO AIR TRAVEL

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               before the

      SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION SAFETY, OPERATIONS, AND INNOVATION

                                 of the

                         COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
                      SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             APRIL 21, 2021

                               __________

    Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation



[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]





                Available online: http://www.govinfo.gov   
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
54-107 PDF               WASHINGTON : 2023 
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi, Ranking
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY PETERS, Michigan                DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia                 Virginia
                                     RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
                    David Strickland, Staff Director
                 Melissa Porter, Deputy Staff Director
       George Greenwell, Policy Coordinator and Security Manager
                 John Keast, Republican Staff Director
            Crystal Tully, Republican Deputy Staff Director
                      Steven Wall, General Counsel
                                 ------                                

      SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION SAFETY, OPERATIONS, AND INNOVATION

KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona, Chair       TED CRUZ, Texas, Ranking
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
JON TESTER, Montana                  ROY BLUNT, Missouri
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JERRY MORAN, Kansas
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          MIKE LEE, Utah
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
                                         Virginia  
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Hearing held on April 21, 2021...................................     1
Statement of Senator Sinema......................................     1
Statement of Senator Cruz........................................     3
Statement of Senator Wicker......................................     5
Statement of Senator Warnock.....................................    36
Statement of Senator Markey......................................    37
Statement of Senator Cantwell....................................    39
Statement of Senator Rosen.......................................    42

                               Witnesses

Charlene Reynolds, Assistant Aviation Director, City of Phoenix 
  Aviation Department, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport..     6
    Prepared statement...........................................     7
Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight 
  Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO........................................     9
    Prepared statement...........................................    11
Nick Calio, President and CEO, Airlines for America (A4A)........    18
    Prepared statement...........................................    20
Leonard J. Marcus, Ph.D., Director, Aviation Public Health 
  Initiative, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the 
  Harvard Kennedy School of Government...........................    25
    Prepared statement...........................................    27

 
                          PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF: 
                  AMERICA'S SAFE RETURN TO AIR TRAVEL 

                              ----------                              


                       WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021

                               U.S. Senate,
  Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and 
                                        Innovation,
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in 
room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Kyrsten 
Sinema, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Sinema [presiding], Cantwell, Markey, 
Rosen, Cruz, Wicker and Warnock.

           OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. KYRSTEN SINEMA, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA

    Senator Sinema. Welcome to the first hearing of the 
Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation for 
the 117th Congress. I'm pleased to Chair this subcommittee and 
to partner with Ranking Member Cruz on aviation issues just as 
we did in the 116th Congress. I look forward to working with 
him, the Chair, and Ranking Member of the Full Committee and 
the rest of my Senate colleagues to address important aviation 
policies.
    This subcommittee has a history of bipartisan collaboration 
and I intend to continue that tradition as the Chair.
    There are many aviation topics for this subcommittee to 
consider over the next two years. Our first hearing today looks 
at the most significant challenge to our aviation system in 
many years: COVID-19.
    The COVID-19 pandemic threatened to unravel the commercial 
aviation industry and leave a significant portion of the 
aviation workforce unemployed. At its lowest point, passenger 
traffic fell by 96 percent. With such weak demand, hundreds of 
thousands of aviation workers could have been furloughed and 
service could have been eliminated to small communities.
    Also, due to safety and training requirements for aviation 
workers, it is difficult to rehire and retrain workers after 
being furloughed.
    However, aviation stakeholders, including carriers, labor 
and airports, came together to advance the bipartisan Payroll 
Support Program and Aviation Loan Assistance Program. This 
funding ensured that essential travel would continue, that jobs 
would be saved, and the industry would be ready to support the 
recovery as vaccination numbers increase.
    I was glad to play a role in passing the original PSP and 
its extensions, which saved the livelihoods for so many 
aviation families.
    The PSP also provides important protections, preventing 
recipients from laying off workers, buying back stock, or 
cutting off service to small communities, like those in rural 
Arizona.
    I look forward to hearing testimony from the witnesses 
about the impact PSP has had on efforts to keep aviation 
workers employed and ready to safely transport Americans as 
COVID vaccinations increase.
    America's airports have also been hurt by the pandemic. As 
passenger volume collapsed, many airports were struggling to 
pay bills, keep employees, and increase cleaning, all while 
ensuring airports continued to meet the highest aviation safety 
standards.
    To advance these goals, I was proud to support critical 
airport relief in the COVID response bills. I was also proud to 
work with my Republican colleague, Senator Fischer, to pass our 
AIR Act in the December Coronavirus Relief Bill, which 
stabilized Federal funding for airports and ensured that COVID-
19 passenger decline didn't decrease airport funding.
    I look forward to hearing more about how airports have 
addressed the COVID pandemic and their continued plans for 
recovery.
    And, finally, our hearing today will look at what health 
precautions have been successfully implemented throughout our 
aviation system and what procedures are needed in the future to 
ensure travel.
    The CDC has updated travel guidance regarding fully 
vaccinated Americans but still discourages non-essential travel 
for unvaccinated Americans.
    I want to echo the CDC's recommendations, which remain 
fundamental, wash your hands, wear a mask, keep socially 
distant whenever possible, and stay home if you're feeling 
sick.
    I encourage the Administration to be proactive regarding 
masks on aircraft and I support Federal efforts to ensure that 
passengers wear masks on planes and that crews have tools to 
enforce those protections.
    I am concerned that those protections may prematurely end 
next month. So I'm calling on the Administration to extend 
those policies, which have provided clarity for travelers, 
offered certainty for crews, and prevented the spread of 
disease.
    At a time when we are seeing increased infection numbers in 
certain parts of the country and abroad, we must not let up on 
mitigation efforts or place airline workers and their 
passengers at increased risk.
    Confidence that air travel is safe is critical to the full 
recovery of our aviation system and our economy.
    We have an excellent panel today with representatives from 
air carriers, aviation labor, airports, and public health to 
provide the Subcommittee with an overview of the aviation 
industry more than 1 year into the COVID pandemic.
    I'm particularly glad to have Aviation Assistant Director 
Charlene Reynolds from the Phoenix Aviation Department here 
today to share her perspective about how Arizona and Arizona's 
busiest airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor, have dealt with the 
challenges of the past year.
    Thank you all for being here today, but before we get to 
our witnesses, I'd like to recognize my partner on this 
committee, our Subcommittee Ranking Member, Senator Cruz, for 
his opening statement.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. TED CRUZ, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS

    Senator Cruz. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good to be with you. 
Congratulations on your first hearing as Chair of the 
Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation 
(Hybrid.) I look forward to continuing our partnership and to 
working with you in your new role as Chair of this new 
Subcommittee.
    Thirteen months ago, we held the first congressional 
hearing on the role of global aviation in containing the spread 
of what was then a relatively new infectious disease, COVID-19.
    At the time of the hearing on March 4, 2020, none of us 
could have imagined the ultimate scope of this public health 
emergency, how quickly it would snowball into a full-blown 
crisis, and the pain that it would inflict on so many 
Americans' lives, nor could we imagine the strain it would end 
up putting on our economy and, most notably for the purpose of 
this hearing, on our travel sector.
    This time last year, barely 100,000 passengers were flying 
each day compared with over two million at the same time the 
year before. Congress acted quickly through the CARES Act to 
provide relief to the nation, including the aviation sector, 
and to preserve millions of jobs, and Congress acted twice more 
to extend this relief. It is not an exaggeration to say that 
without it, tens of thousands of aviation professionals would 
have lost their jobs and this industry would have been 
irreparably damaged.
    What a difference a year makes, though. Today, for more 
than 40 days in a row, more than one million passengers have 
flown in the United States, over 50 percent of American adults 
have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 
airlines are adding additional routes as demand for travel 
continues to pick up. In short, things are looking up.
    After an unprecedented economic downturn and months spent 
at home away from extended family and loved ones, it's time for 
Americans to be able to see friends and family, and for the air 
travel industry to re-emerge, to continue providing safe, high-
quality air transportation to the flying public.
    As welcome as this turning of the corner is, we would be 
remiss if we walked away from this crisis without learning 
several important lessons.
    First, we need to be much better prepared to deal with a 
fast-moving, far-reaching crisis. This is particularly true for 
a crisis in which, through no fault of their own, American 
citizens are stranded abroad.
    As nations across the world locked down early on in the 
pandemic, the U.S. Government led a multi-stakeholder effort to 
repatriate Americans unable to get a flight home. That process 
was not without some turbulence and even though we suddenly had 
a surplus of airplanes and pilots, getting foreign nations to 
help gather Americans in a central location or just to let 
planes land at their airports proved very difficult.
    Now that we are rounding the COVID corner, government and 
industry should sit down and try to strategize how to make any 
similar efforts in the future more effective and more 
efficient.
    Second, the government must learn how to better communicate 
with industry. From the outset, open dialogue with air carriers 
was critical to understanding their challenges, how or why 
certain dictates would be overly burdensome or ineffective, how 
government could assist with diplomatic issues, and how 
government and industry could work collaboratively toward a 
goal of stopping the spread of COVID without killing the 
aviation industry.
    It was unfortunate that at many points, industry and 
regulators seemed to be talking past each other rather than to 
each other, and I hope that moving forward this is something we 
can rectify. Collaboration and communication, not commands and 
indignation, are what is needed.
    Third, government must learn to communicate clearly and 
accurately with the American people. For example, based on all 
the available evidence, we know that it is safe to travel by 
plane when appropriate precautions are taken. The Federal 
Government must clearly communicate this fact to the public and 
begin to identify off-ramp COVID mitigation practices as they 
become unnecessary.
    This is especially true for vaccinated Americans. New 
mandates are making permanent existing emergency mandates the 
wrong way to go.
    I am very concerned by the discussion of things like 
requiring negative COVID tests to book a flight or a vaccine 
passport as a condition of travel. Concerns have grown 
throughout the pandemic related to privacy, data security, 
disclosure of medical records, and what the permissible uses of 
confidential health information are, and I strongly believe 
that we need to endeavor to address these before we find 
ourselves in the midst of another crisis.
    Finally, the last lesson is one that I believe is most 
important to the carriers. It is clear that the aviation sector 
must find a way to be more resilient in the future. Although 
none of us could have predicted how quickly COVID would 
devastate aviation, I strongly believe that industry will miss 
an important opportunity if it doesn't come out of this crisis 
thinking long and hard about how to harden itself to future 
crises so it doesn't find itself in another situation where 
Congress must step in to guarantee workers' payroll.
    Today, the Subcommittee will hear testimony from important 
stakeholders in the aviation industry as well as a leader in 
public health who has studied COVID's transmissibility in 
airports and on airplanes.
    It is my hope that this hearing can be used to outline what 
we got right over the last year and also what must still be 
done by various stakeholders, Congress included, to instill 
confidence in the safety of commercial aviation so that 
Americans can get back flying safely again and this vital 
industry can rebound with gusto.
    Thank you.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Ranking Member Cruz.
    Now I'd like to recognize the Ranking Member of the Full 
Committee and my partner in passing the Restaurants Act, 
Senator Wicker, for his opening remarks.
    Senator.

                STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER WICKER, 
                 U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI

    Senator Wicker. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank 
you to both you and Ranking Member Cruz. This is an important 
topic and an excellent panel.
    Today's hearing is an opportunity to hear from stakeholders 
about the actions taken by Congress in response to the impacts 
on aviation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Last year as the pandemic was taking hold, I had the 
opportunity to help create the Payroll Support Program in the 
CARES Act. This provided relief to the aviation sector. The 
Treasury Department later concluded PSP preserved over 700,000 
aviation jobs, preventing the loss of air service for millions 
of Americans.
    Although we had hoped commercial air travel would bounce 
back quickly, the ongoing effects of the pandemic made it 
necessary to extend PSP beyond September of last year.
    I'm pleased that we reached bipartisan agreement to provide 
a second round of PSP in the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations 
package passed in December.
    The Treasury is now working to allocate a third round of 
PSP that will provide additional relief through the end of 
September.
    In addition to PSP, which is focused on airline workers and 
aviation contractors, Congress has also provided $20 billion in 
pandemic relief for airports.
    After more than a year of living through the pandemic, 
confidence in flying is rebounding as more Americans get 
vaccinated and the study of relative safety of air travel, such 
as the study produced by one of our witnesses, Dr. Leonard 
Marcus from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
    Throughout the pandemic, the aviation industry has played a 
critical role in helping minimize the risk of exposure with 
more frequent cleaning of airports and aircraft, new health 
screening protocols, and social distancing.
    I am concerned that recent CDC guidance on the safety of 
air travel, especially for vaccinated passengers, fails to 
provide the clarity that is needed to maintain public 
confidence.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about how safe 
it is to fly and what the future holds for air travel this 
summer and beyond.
    As our Nation moves closer toward a full reopening, now is 
the time to take stock of the aviation industry's position and 
what can be done to ensure it is fully recovering.
    With that, I yield back my time, and I thank you very much, 
Madam Chair.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Ranking Member.
    And now I'll introduce our witnesses for today's hearing.
    Our first witness is Charlene Reynolds, the Assistant 
Aviation Director of the Phoenix Department of Aviation which 
owns and operates Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. 
She's worked with the city and the airport in many roles for 15 
years, including leading the airport as the Interim Director of 
Aviation for much of the COVID pandemic.
    Ms. Reynolds, thank you so much for your work and for 
joining us today. You are recognized to give your opening 
statement.

 STATEMENT OF CHARLENE REYNOLDS, ASSISTANT AVIATION DIRECTOR, 
    CITY OF PHOENIX AVIATION DEPARTMENT, PHOENIX SKY HARBOR 
                     INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

    Ms. Reynolds. Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, Chair 
Sinema, Ranking Member Cruz, and Members of the Subcommittee, 
good afternoon.
    Again, I am Charlene Reynolds, Assistant Aviation Director 
for the City of Phoenix.
    The past 13 months have negatively impacted airports like 
no other event in the history of aviation. Prior to the 
pandemic, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ended 2019 
with a record 46 million passengers and we were well on our way 
to another record in 2020 when the pandemic began.
    As a result, in Calendar Year 2020, our total passenger 
numbers were down 53 percent as compared to 2019, and the 
airport's non-aeronautical revenue declined by 36 percent.
    Since airports like Phoenix Sky Harbor rely on revenue that 
they generate to fund operations and capital projects, steep 
budget cuts were needed. We reduced our annual operating budget 
by $30 million and deferred $800 million worth of construction 
projects.
    We are grateful to Congress for sending much-needed Federal 
relief to airports. Federal funding has not only helped us 
weather the pandemic, it has assisted us in providing relief to 
our concessionaires.
    The Mayor and Phoenix City Council approved three rounds of 
rent relief beginning in April 2019 and continued on through 
December of this year.
    In Fiscal Year 2020, the airport provided over $34 million 
in relief to its business partners and has provided over $16 
million in relief to date in 2021.
    Thirty percent of Sky Harbor's concessionaires are small 
business owners. To help these business owners survive the 
steep losses during the pandemic, the Phoenix City Council also 
approved three contract term extensions enabling 25 airport 
concession disadvantaged business enterprises to refinance 
their existing loans, some of which were secured by their 
personal residences.
    International travel is still severely impacted by COVID-19 
and business travel continues to be greatly reduced. The 
airport's business partners rely heavily on business travelers 
as they tend to spend significantly more than leisure 
travelers.
    To put this in context, the airport's shoe shine 
concessionaire closed its operations permanently as 90 percent 
of his customers were business travelers. In notifying the 
airport of its closure, the concessionaire stated that the loss 
of business travelers forced him out of business and asked for 
the prompt return of his business performance bonds held by the 
airport in order to save his home from going into foreclosure.
    While Sky Harbor ended 2020 with passenger numbers reduced 
by more than 50 percent, the airport has gained significant 
increases during spring break. However, recent forecasts by our 
rating agencies predict that most airports won't consistently 
return to pre-pandemic traffic levels until 2024.
    The Aviation Department is working with local health 
officials to host events this month offering free COVID-19 
vaccinations to the tens of thousands of essential employees 
working at our airport.
    Phoenix Sky Harbor sanitizes with high-tech systems and 
increased custodial vigilance. We enforce the Federal mask 
mandate and work hard to encourage physical distancing.
    Looking forward, additional AIP funding and money for 
terminal renovations in President Biden's American Jobs Plan 
will provide significant benefit to the City of Phoenix-owned 
airports. All three airports have shovel-worthy airfield 
projects waiting for funding.
    As the Nation emerges from the pandemic, additional money 
for terminal renovations would assist us in making 
modifications for increased physical distancing and deployment 
of touchless technology in order to enhance the customer 
experience.
    Funding for terminal renovations will also help us pay for 
upgrades, such as the installation of vertical circulation 
systems and electrostatic cleaning equipment.
    Airports also have urgent infrastructure needs. One method 
of funding new capital projects is the passenger facility 
charge or PFC. The $4.50 PFC cap has not been raised in more 
than 20 years and has not kept pace with rising construction 
costs and/or inflation.
    Modernizing the outdated PFC limit would provide airports 
with the funds to invest in the facilities needed to attract 
new airlines and allow existing air carriers to expand.
    Sky Harbor is the largest economic engine in the state of 
Arizona and, as such, we understand that a well-run and well-
maintained airport is essential to a thriving economy and we 
take that responsibility seriously.
    I'd like to thank the members of the Subcommittee for 
inviting me to speak and especially Chairwoman Sinema for your 
continued support of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, 
America's friendliest airport.
    I welcome your questions, and thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Reynolds follows:]

 Prepared Statement of Charlene Reynolds, Assistant Aviation Director, 
 City of Phoenix Aviation Department, Phoenix Sky Harbor International 
                                Airport
    Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, Chair Sinema, Ranking Member 
Cruz, and members of the Subcommittee, good afternoon.
    I am Charlene Reynolds, Assistant Aviation Director for the City of 
Phoenix. I oversee the business operations of Phoenix Sky Harbor 
International Airport, Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, and Phoenix 
Goodyear Airport. I also served as Acting Director of Aviation Services 
for the City of Phoenix from November 2020 through March of this year.
    As you have heard from many in our industry, the past 13 months 
have negatively impacted airports like no other event in the history of 
aviation. Prior to the pandemic, Phoenix Sky Harbor International 
Airport ended 2019 with a record 46 million passengers. We were on our 
way to another record in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. As a 
result, in calendar year 2020, our total passenger numbers were down 53 
percent compared to 2019. The airports' non-aeronautical revenue 
declined by 36 percent.
    Since airports like Phoenix Sky Harbor are self-sustaining 
enterprises and rely on the revenue that they generate to fund 
operations and capital projects, steep budget cuts were needed. We 
reduced our annual operating budget by $30 million and deferred 80 
percent or $800 million worth of construction projects.
    We are grateful to Congress, and specifically members of this 
Subcommittee for your efforts in sending much-needed Federal relief 
funds to airports such as Phoenix Sky Harbor. The $148 million the City 
of Phoenix Aviation Department received in CARES Act funding allowed us 
to cover debt service payments, as revenues were heavily impacted by 
passenger reductions. Using these funds to meet debt obligations helped 
us maintain investment grade bond ratings and will keep the door open 
to future construction financings once we emerge from the pandemic. 
CARES money is also being used for operating expenses, which allows the 
airport to keep costs affordable for our airline partners while 
providing enhanced cleanings of terminal facilities. We look forward to 
the additional significant relief that the Coronavirus Response and 
Relief Supplemental Appropriation (CRSSA) and American Rescue Plan will 
bring.
    Federal COVID-19 relief funding has not only helped the City of 
Phoenix Aviation department weather the pandemic, it has also assisted 
us in providing relief to our concessionaires. Under the guidance of 
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council, Phoenix was 
able to offer our business partners three rounds of rent relief 
beginning in April 2019 and continuing to December 2021. Rent relief 
provides temporary abatement from paying the ``Minimal Annual 
Guarantee'' rents which are common in the airport industry, replacing 
them with percentage rents based on actual sales. In FY2020, the 
airport provided $34.7 million in relief to its business partners and 
has provided over $16 million to date in 2021.
    The City prides itself in providing opportunities for local and 
small businesses. At Phoenix Sky Harbor, 30 percent of the concession 
operators are local and small business owners. To help these businesses 
survive the loss of business created by the pandemic, the Phoenix City 
Council approved a three-term extension enabling our 25 Airport 
Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprises to refinance their 
existing loans, some of which were secured by their personal 
residences.
    International travel is still severely impacted by the COVID-19 
pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, Phoenix Sky Harbor averaged 52 
international flights daily. Today, an average of 32 international 
flights arrive or depart from our Airport each day. Mexico currently 
accounts for 97 percent of Phoenix Sky Harbor's current international 
traffic, with Canada accounting for the remaining three percent. Prior 
to the pandemic, 38 percent of Sky Harbor's international traffic 
served Canada, 51 percent served Mexico, and Phoenix Sky Harbor offered 
nonstop service to London and Frankfurt. Business travel continues to 
be greatly reduced. The airport's food, beverage, retail and rental car 
partners rely heavily on business travelers as they spend significantly 
more than leisure travelers within the terminals. To put this in 
context, the airport's shoeshine concessionaire operated by an Airport 
Concessionaire Disadvantaged Business Enterprise closed its operations 
permanently, as 90 percent of its customers were business travelers. In 
notifying the Airport of the closure, the concessionaire stated the 
loss of travelers forced him out of business and asked for the prompt 
return of his Performance Bond in order to save his home from going 
into foreclosure.
    While Phoenix Sky Harbor ended 2020 with passenger numbers reduced 
by more than 50 percent, the Airport has seen significant increases 
during spring break. However, recent forecasts by rating agencies 
predict that most airports will not consistently return to pre-pandemic 
traffic levels until 2024.
    We are proud to say that all three Phoenix-owned airports have 
received Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) 
STARTM accreditation--the gold standard for cleaning and 
outbreak prevention. In addition, the City of Phoenix Aviation 
Department is working with local health officials to host events this 
month offering free on-site COVID-19 vaccinations to the tens of 
thousands of essential employees who work at our City's airports. 
Phoenix Sky Harbor sanitizes with both high-tech systems and increased 
custodial vigilance. We enforce the Federal mask requirement, and work 
hard to encourage physical distancing. But as passengers return to 2019 
numbers, facilities that were built for pre-pandemic conditions present 
a challenge in this new environment.
    As you know, airports such as Phoenix Sky Harbor have urgent 
infrastructure needs. Looking forward, it is imperative that any future 
infrastructure package includes additional airport investment. 
Additional AIP funding and money for terminal renovations in President 
Biden's American Jobs Plan would provide significant benefit to all 
three City of Phoenix owned airports. Phoenix Deer Valley, the busiest 
general aviation airport in the U.S.; Phoenix Goodyear; and Phoenix Sky 
Harbor all have shovel-worthy airfield projects waiting for funding. 
And as the Nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, additional money 
for terminal renovations would assist us in making modifications to 
provide for additional physical distancing and deploy touchless 
technology within our terminals to enhance the customer experience. 
Funding for terminal renovations would also help us pay for upgrades, 
such as the installation of vertical circulation systems and 
electrostatic cleaning equipment in our busiest terminal, Terminal 4.
    In addition to AIP, another method of funding new capital projects 
is the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC), a local user fee that may be 
used for specific projects which are approved by the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) in consultation with the airlines. The $4.50 PFC 
cap has not been raised in more than 20 years and has not kept pace 
with rising construction costs and inflation. Modernizing this outdated 
PFC limitation would provide airports like Phoenix Sky Harbor funding 
to invest in the facilities needed to attract new airlines and allow 
existing air carriers to expand.
    Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is the largest economic 
engine in the state of Arizona, and in the center of one of the fastest 
growing cities in the country. We understand that a strong, well-run, 
and well-maintained airport is essential to a thriving economy, and we 
take that responsibility very seriously.
    Thank you for inviting me to speak. We are grateful to Chairwoman 
Sinema for your continued support of Phoenix Sky Harbor, America's 
Friendliest Airport. Thank you.

    Senator Sinema. Thank you.
    Our next witness is Sara Nelson, the International 
President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, a 
position she has held since 2014. In this role, she represents 
50,000 members at 20 airlines.
    Ms. Nelson, thank you for joining us today, and you're 
recognized for your opening statement.

STATEMENT OF SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION 
               OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS-CWA, AFL-CIO

    Ms. Nelson. Thank you, Chair Sinema. Thank you and 
congratulations on your first hearing, and thank you, Ranking 
Member Cruz, as well.
    I'd like to thank all of the Committee for your diligent 
work over the last year. It's important to have perspective 
about this crisis compared with what we have learned in the 
past and what we can learn from this going forward to make 
aviation and the rest of our operations around the country even 
better.
    I was a five-year flight attendant when 9/11 happened and 
that was a crisis also that we on the frontlines did not make 
just like this and what happened following that was all of the 
bankruptcies, all of the loss, the loss of our pensions, cut to 
our pay, the mergers that followed that made airplane seats 
smaller and closer together, and all of the consumer issues 
that people are concerned with today.
    We took that situation out of the hands of the public, out 
of the hands of the government, and put it in the hands of the 
bankruptcy court and predatory lenders, corporate lenders who 
had their last interest as the public interest, and so I'm so 
grateful to this committee and the leadership that was shown in 
Congress in working together in a bipartisan fashion. I'm 
grateful to have worked directly with our airlines on this 
Payroll Support Program that was fundamentally workers first.
    We are still feeling the pain of 9/11 and still trying to 
recover, but this time we made sure that this crisis would not 
be put on the backs of workers. The Payroll Support Program 
made sure that all of the money would go to supporting the pay 
and benefits of the workers on the frontlines, those essential 
workers who we all have to thank for keeping our country moving 
during this time.
    It made sure that there were no cuts to hourly rates, no 
furloughs, no job losses. It kept people certified and with 
their security credentials so that it would be in place to lift 
our economy again, and, notably, in all the complaints about 
the executive pay that has skyrocketed during this pandemic, 
you won't see an airline executive on any of those lists 
because the requirement was also that their pay would be capped 
for 2 years beyond the relief and ban on stock buybacks and 
dividends.
    This was smart policy that made sure that we would stay in 
our jobs and connected to our health care during this pandemic. 
It allowed us to make good choices for public health during 
this time, to make sure that when people were sick, they could 
call out sick, and that we could support all of the efforts 
that the airlines made to make sure that the airlines and the 
airplanes were the most controlled possible space so that 
people can safely travel during this time.
    I really want to thank the leadership of this committee and 
especially the work that was done in December for the emergency 
package that was put in place because if that had not happened, 
all of the furloughs that took place when the funding lapsed on 
October 1st led to people falling out of their certifications 
and security credentials.
    We still have at this time, even though we started getting 
those people back on the jobs, back into their certifications, 
back into their training, we still have 4,000 flight attendants 
who are not qualified to fly yet, but they will be by this 
summer as demand is returning.
    Now it's incredibly important that we continue to stay 
close to getting everyone vaccinated. Flight attendants did not 
have priority because of different policies with each of the 
states, and now we should do more of what Charlene was talking 
about in having clinics at these airports and making this 
available to all the people on the frontlines and the 
communities that surround them.
    We need to get vaccinations around the world and do 
everything that we can as a leader in this country to make sure 
that vaccinations are happening everywhere because, as we know 
from coronavirus more than ever, the old labor adage, an injury 
to one is an injury to all is true. As long as the virus exists 
anywhere, we're all at risk. So we've all got to work together 
to make sure that everyone is vaccinated and international 
travel is critical to business travel and to the networks that 
sustain our aviation industry and make us strong and promote 
tourism and travel further.
    Mask enforcement is critical on this and the return of food 
and beverage service. We would ask that both the extension of 
the mandates on the mask and the enforcement from the TSA 
Security Directive that is set to expire on May 11 is extended 
through September and that airlines hold off on food and 
beverage service returning to the flights because every time 
someone goes to take a drink or a bite, they are removing that 
mask and putting others at risk. Both of these issues are 
critically important.
    I look forward to the questions going forward. There's so 
much more to talk about, but these are the key issues, and 
again I want to thank this committee so much for your diligent 
work. We did something historic here that should be a template 
for how we put in place relief in any time going forward.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Nelson follows:]

Prepared Statement of Sara Nelson, International President, Association 
                   of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
Introduction
    Thank you, Subcommittee Chair Sinema, Ranking Member Cruz, Full 
Committee Chair Cantwell, and Ranking Member Wicker, for this hearing 
on safe recovery of aviation as we navigate to end the pandemic. 
Members of the Committee, my name is Sara Nelson. I am a twenty-five 
year union flight attendant and president of the Association of Flight 
Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), representing 50,000 flight attendants 
across the industry. We appreciate the opportunity to testify today on 
the success of Federal COVID relief efforts and the work we must do to 
support a safe return for air travel and build back better.
    As frontline aviation workers, Flight Attendants were some of the 
first Americans to experience COVID-19 up close. With decades of 
experience in combating the spread of communicable disease, AFA first 
called on the administration to implement a coordinated, comprehensive 
plan to combat the virus more than 14 months ago. While the aviation 
sector is often called upon to support public health officials in 
preventing the spread of disease, our requests for leadership and 
attempts to coordinate with government went unanswered by the previous 
administration. We worked closely with our airlines and airports to 
implement procedures to mitigate risk, but a patchwork approach and 
inconsistent messaging from leadership made it difficult to do our 
jobs. In the year that followed, the pandemic has battered our economy, 
devastated the aviation industry world wide, and killed more than 
565,000 Americans including fellow crewmembers and our families.
    We are relieved that progress on combating the virus is finally 
underway. With the decisive leadership of the Biden-Harris 
Administration and 117th Congress, the U.S. just passed 200 million 
vaccine doses in arms and a quarter of all Americans, including many of 
our most vulnerable, are fully vaccinated. Flight Attendants are now 
eligible for vaccine appointments in every state, although we continue 
to advocate for prioritized access for aviation and other frontline 
workers, in addition to support from employers for the pay and time off 
necessary to obtain the vaccine and recover from any side effects. In 
recent weeks U.S. flight bookings have reached their highest levels in 
more than a year, although business and international travel is still 
essentially nonexistent. It is vital that we maintain vigilance and 
best public health practices to contain new surges in the virus and 
build on our hard won progress.
    In many ways, our lives shrunk over the past year, into our homes 
and our immediate family, cut off from friends, family, extended 
networks, and the wider world. Our solutions have often been locally-
focused, at the school-district, city, county, and state level. But 
rather than look inward for solutions, the pandemic shows we have to be 
world citizens. With coronavirus, for too long, we have been forced to 
play catch up. As we seek to build back stronger, we need to reassert 
our global leadership and reach for global solutions. To state the 
obvious, American aviation, and our international business and leisure 
travel, cannot recover while there are travel restrictions and viral 
surges across the globe. As a union leader, I have never uttered the 
labor adage, ``an injury to one is an injury to all'' with more somber 
truth. As long as the virus lives in any one of us in the world, all of 
us are at risk.
    Today, I am pleased to share our perspective on the unprecedented 
and successful efforts of the Federal government and, specifically, the 
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, in acting to protect our jobs over the 
past year. Healthcare and economic security are inextricably linked and 
this Committee played a crucial role in giving us the strength to care 
for ourselves, our families, and our communities. We will also discuss 
our recommendations on how to ensure the health and safety of Americans 
returning to the skies, and how to build back stronger than before.
Payroll Support Program (PSP): A success for workers and a workers'-
        first model for the future
    Flight Attendants and airline workers all across this country are 
deeply grateful to the members of this Committee and congressional 
leadership for acting decisively to save our jobs, with historic 
Federal relief that puts working people first. Your actions have kept 
the people who make aviation fly on the job, on payroll, and connected 
to health care and benefits when nearly a million of us were at risk of 
layoffs and involuntary furloughs. By acting repeatedly to protect our 
jobs, you have kept our workforce intact and prepared to aid in the 
economic recovery now underway. You have averted untold financial harm, 
family disruption and anguish. We know that your leadership in 
successful, bipartisan, workers' first policy-making, is a model for 
the future across all sectors. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
    Members of this Committee joined together more than one year ago to 
pass an historic workers' first relief package for aviation workers. 
The result was the Payroll Support Program (PSP), the most successful 
jobs and infrastructure program in the CARES Act, extended in the 2020 
year-end emergency COVID relief and the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The 
diligent work of this Committee, and especially bipartisan leadership 
of Senators Cantwell, Sinema, and Wicker, revived PSP at the end of 
2020 days before healthcare expired, rents were due, and just in time 
to begin a massive retraining process that will ensure we are fully 
prepared to meet the demand of an economy in recovery. PSP was designed 
with a single purpose: to keep aviation workers--passenger service 
agents, flight attendants, mechanics, caterers, pilots, dispatchers and 
all of the 2.1 million workers who make aviation possible--paid, 
connected to healthcare, out of the unemployment lines, and ready to 
lift the entire country.
    This program used efficient systems already in place through 
airline payrolls, keeping benefits and payroll taxes in place, and 
maintaining the basis for retirement security both through government 
programs and company benefits. We continued paying taxes that supported 
the jobs we all count on through state and local budgets, like 
sanitation, firefighters, mass transit, education, and emergency 
response. At a time of great uncertainty for the industry, aviation 
workers had the stability to continue spending into the economy and the 
confidence that they and their family members would have access to 
healthcare in the middle of the pandemic. Fundamentally, PSP allowed us 
to take care of ourselves so that our country could focus on those who 
were sick or vulnerable, while also continuing to support the safety 
net programs we need well after this pandemic is over. It is well 
documented that the public receives an outsized return on all its 
investments to help aviation recover from COVID.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ https://cowen.bluematrix.com/links2/pdf/edd62e0f-e38a-4e77-
9cea-c353ac5a6f87
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The program was also a model for how Congress can condition its 
spending to ensure accountability. PSP funding is authorized 
exclusively to maintain the salaries, wages, and benefits of aviation 
workers. Corporate restrictions during the relief period and for years 
after include, no dividends, no stock buybacks, and unprecedented 
limits on executive compensation. It conditions the carriers' receipt 
of Federal funds on making no involuntary furloughs or layoffs. 
Participating carriers must also maintain levels of scheduled service, 
critical to maintaining air travel to smaller communities. In the 
pandemic this was especially important to ensure well-functioning 
health care and pharmaceutical supply chains to serve small and remote 
communities across the country.
    PSP has been an overwhelming success, responsible for saving 
hundreds of thousands of jobs across our industry, and maintaining 
critical spending in our communities, where every aviation job supports 
3.55 additional jobs, or 1 in 14 jobs in the country.
    Last October, when the program expired prematurely, the impact 
stretched across hundreds of thousands of families. The airlines' dire 
warnings turned into immediate and massive furloughs and layoffs. 
Adding to the impact of furloughs were aviation workers who took unpaid 
leaves to save their healthcare, or had to make gut-wrenching decisions 
like moving across the country in order to keep the job, adding 
individual cost and increased risk of exposure during the pandemic. 
Only the short-term extension in Congress' end of year emergency relief 
and the program support in the ARP prevented a total workforce 
disaster.
    Even now, that two-month expiration continues to cause problems for 
airlines and the aviation workforce. As we warned prior to the 
furloughs last October, many furloughed workers, including those 
reinstated with the emergency relief signed into law on December 28, 
2020, are still waiting for a spot in required requalification 
training. The emergency relief restored paychecks and benefits as of 
December 1, but workers still are not fully restored to their positions 
as training certification and security clearance requires significant 
time to recover. In aviation, a two to three month furlough is causing 
as much as seven months of disruption for workers and flight 
infrastructure. As late as June there will still be several thousand 
still in process for return after the furloughs at the end of 2020.
    This is just one reason why Congress' decision to extend payroll 
support through September 30, 2021 in the ARP was so important. Airline 
operations--people, routes, and planes--cannot simply be turned on or 
off from one day to the next. Further, with PSP in place during the 
pandemic, airlines can maintain staffing necessary to ensure that no 
one goes to work when they aren't feeling well and to guard against 
delays and travel disruption if crewmembers need to call out sick. This 
flexibility is particularly important as we work to restore public 
confidence safe travel. Moveover, the protection against furloughs has 
provided job security for all those in our diverse field, notably for 
women and people of color, who were hit hardest by widespread 
furloughs.
    At this moment, I think back twenty years ago to the months after 
September 11, 2001, a very different tragedy that shook commercial 
aviation to its core. In the aftermath, there was no PSP. The airline 
bankruptcies that followed September 11 ripped up our labor contracts 
and terminated our pensions. Thousands of airline workers lost their 
jobs and their health care, or shouldered a much higher percentage of 
the costs of care. As a Flight Attendant only five years into my 
career, I spent the next ten years watching the work of the brave women 
and men who came before me to create the contract that attracted me to 
United Airlines get picked apart and destroyed. Across the industry, 
dreams of golden years with a secure retirement earned over a lifetime 
of work were destroyed. The people I know and love at work are 
unbelievably resilient and inspiring. But the bankruptcies and mergers 
that followed delivered repeated blows that cut deep, and even ripped 
up contracts completely as management used mergers to divide workers 
and decertify their unions and the contractual and legal protections 
that came with representation. It was painful and still is. Families 
are still trying to recover. Consumers suffered too as seats got 
smaller, closer together, and the experience became all about the 
lowest costs of service. Controls were handed over to the bankruptcy 
courts, investment bankers, and predatory corporate lending that puts 
the public interests dead last. When we made the solemn vow after 9/11 
to ``Never Forget,'' we also vowed ``Never Again'' to honor the memory 
of our dear friends and heroes lost by fighting like hell for the 
living.
    In the past year, we are proud to have played a part in shaping the 
very different approach we have taken together, a workers' first 
approach, ensuring that as airlines come back workers will not bear the 
long term economic harm from a crisis we didn't create. With flight 
volumes and revenues rising again, we feel optimistic that the PSP 
extension put in place through September is the bridge that workers and 
consumers need.
    We hope that all members of the Committee take pride in the choice 
you made to center Federal action on direct support for workers. As we 
think about the many challenges presented to this Congress, from 
addressing income inequality and racial justice, to rebuilding worker 
power and confronting the climate crisis, we believe the lessons of PSP 
are there as a guide.
Confidence in the safety of aviation
    Aviation workers know that we can only restore air travel if we 
gain control over the virus. Our economic recovery, as much or more 
than any other industry, is tied to continued success in vaccination 
and widespread participation in effective public health measures.
    Congress and the new administration must continue to promote a 
culture that puts safety first to renew confidence in travel and trust 
around the world in our Nation's handling of the pandemic. When 
President Biden issued his Executive Order titled ``Promoting COVID-19 
Safety in Domestic and International Travel'' on his first full day in 
office, it sent a clear message about the Administration's commitment 
to science, public health, and the essential workers on the frontlines. 
As we head towards the summer, we need all Federal agencies to stay the 
course.
    With domestic demand recovering, we particularly need leadership 
from Congress and the Administration to help safely restore 
international travel. A broad cross section of industry and labor 
groups have urged that the Administration adopt a data-driven, risk-
based roadmap that carefully considers how and when to adjust 
restrictions. In 2020, overseas travel to the U.S. declined by 81 
percent, costing hundreds of billions in losses to the economy. Simply 
put, we will never fully rebuild our aviation sector without the return 
of international travel. The global travel data firm OAG reported last 
week that just 60 percent of the direct international routes served in 
April 2019 (about 850 out of 1,400) are currently operating \2\ and 
there are still travel restrictions operating across the world. We have 
a long way to go.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/travel/international-summer-
travel-coronavirus.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We support a comprehensive approach to safety that will protect 
passengers and crew while rebuilding public confidence in air travel, 
including continued vaccination with priority access for flight crews, 
mandating masks, minimizing food/beverage service, mitigating 
disruptive passengers, maximizing onboard ventilation and filtration, 
and establishing on-going sanitation protocols. We stand ready to 
support Congress and the Administration in the important and necessary 
work of implementing these measures. We appreciate the work from 
members of the Committee to clarify FAA's authority to take action to 
protect airline workers and passengers during a public health 
emergency.
Vaccinations are key
    On April 15, Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the House Select 
Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis that the country is now 
vaccinating 3 or 4 million people per day. Just two days ago, April 19, 
was the date President Biden identified for all American adults to 
become eligible to book an appointment. Real progress.
    However, challenges remain. In most states, frontline aviation 
workers, including Flight Attendants, were not prioritized for vaccine 
appointments and are only becoming eligible with the broader public. We 
continue to urge the CDC and states to include all transportation 
workers in groups with appointment priority. We also take the 
opportunity to remind our industry colleagues that some airlines are 
still prepared to assign disciplinary points to workers if their second 
vaccine appointment interferes with a previously scheduled work 
assignment. No one in America should have to choose between facing 
discipline at work and getting the vaccine. We should be encouraging 
everyone to do the right thing for public health.
    Vaccination rates also remain too low in the historically-
marginalized and poor communities that have borne the heaviest brunt of 
the pandemic. Government at every level needs to prioritize vaccine 
access for these communities and avail itself of trusted community 
partners to help get the job done. In some communities, leaders have 
shirked their responsibility and contributed to the spread of 
disinformation. This virus has never stopped at the border of Red 
counties or Blue counties, and we must work to raise vaccination rates 
in all parts of our country.
TRIPS Waiver will help vaccinate the world
    We know that for American aviation to recover, we also need to 
combat the virus across the globe. On April 16, the head of the World 
Health Organization (WHO) reported that new cases per week have doubled 
over the past two months worldwide. Many countries seeing unprecedented 
surges have little access to vaccines at this time. Continuing to 
increase vaccine production and prioritize vaccine access and equity is 
absolutely necessary for the recovery of American aviation, 
international travel and the global economy. It is also a public health 
and national security imperative for the United States, and it will 
save lives.
    For this reason, AFA-CWA has joined a growing coalition of U.S.-
based consumer, health, and labor groups in supporting a COVID-19 
emergency waiver of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property (TRIPS) to make vaccines, treatments, and 
diagnostic testing available across the world. To quote Paul Farmer of 
Partners in Health, ``if we want to stop COVID-19 here, we have to stop 
it everywhere.'' We simply cannot allow patent issues to stop the world 
from protecting itself against COVID-19. Recovery of international 
travel depends on the whole world working together to defeat the virus 
and we are hopeful that the United States will soon lead on promoting 
urgent vaccine production and distribution around the world.
We need to extend the TSA Directive requiring mask wearing
    As we work to restore air travel and reopen public life, we must 
continue to advance public health measures that will protect our health 
and our progress. As Dr. Fauci testified last week, ``[n]ow is not the 
time to pull back on the effective public health measures such as 
masking, physical distancing'' that we know can limit the spread of the 
virus. In aviation, we must continue to require masks and conduct 
enforcement in airports and on airplanes.
    On April 15, 2021, our union wrote to Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) Administrator David P. Pekoske to express our 
support and appreciation for TSA Security Directive (SD) 15824-21-01 
(``Security Measures--Face Mask Requirements'') \3\ and to urge that 
the SD, which is set to expire on May 11, be extended at least through 
September 30, 2021.\4\ TSA issued the directive ``to implement the 
January 21, 2021, Executive Order on promoting measures to prevent the 
spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by travelers within the 
United States and those who enter the country from abroad \5\'' and to 
support ``enforcement of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) Order mandating masks issued on January 29, 2021.'' \6\ Since 
January 31, the SD has provided essential support to crewmembers and 
passengers and helped to restore public confidence in air travel. It 
must be extended now.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/sd-1542-21-01.pdf
    \4\ https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/afacwa/pages/81/
attachments/original/16188556
76/20210415-AFALetter-TSA-ExtendMask.pdf?1618855676
    \5\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/
2021/01/21/executive-order
-promoting-covid-19-safety-in-domestic-and-international-travel/
    \6\ https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/Mask-Order-CDC_GMTF_01-29-
21-p.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We know from experience that the flying public is ready to adapt to 
new behaviors when instructions are clear and rules are enforced. 
Passengers learned to stop smoking, pack minimal fluids in their carry 
ons, and turn off their cell phones for engine start and climb. They 
can readily adjust to wearing a mask if Federal agencies clearly and 
repeatedly define both the expectation and the penalties for non-
compliance. The vast majority of passengers already do this, but it 
only works if everyone properly wears a mask. We applaud FAA 
Administrator Steve Dickson's recent public campaign to back up crew 
who enforce mask policies and other rules to keep everyone safe, 
including communicating the consequences for failing to do so. In 
March, Administrator Dickson extended his agency's Special Emphasis 
Enforcement Program for disruptive passengers (including non-compliance 
with mask requirements) beyond its own original end date of March 30, 
2021 because the ``number of cases we're seeing is still far too high, 
and it tells us urgent action continues to be required,'' \7\ but 
unless TSA extends the SD, the future of the FAA enforcement program 
remains in doubt. The conflict we must manage over refusals to comply 
with mask requirements puts our safety and the safety of other 
passengers at risk. Flight attendants cannot be left to enforce public 
health policies without the backing of Federal enforcement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/faa-unruly-passengers-
enforcement/index.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimize onboard food and beverage service to essential items
    A 2020 study of COVID-19 infection by occupation in Norway found 
that flight attendants and their counterparts working on ships reported 
nearly five times the risk of COVID-19 during the second wave of 
infection last summer and fall, as compared to the general working 
population in Norway, when matched by age and gender.\8\ The only jobs 
that posed a higher risk of COVID-19 during that time involved serving 
food and beverages. Even health care workers were at lower risk. The 
data is clear: repeated exposure to unmasked individuals increases the 
risk of transmission. For this reason, to protect passengers and flight 
crews, it is critical that food and beverage services continue to be 
held to absolute minimums.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Magnusson, K; Nygard, K; Vold, L; and Telle, K. (2021) 
``Occupational risk of COVID-19 in the 1st vs 2nd wave of infection,'' 
medRxiv preprint, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.29.
20220426; posted Nov. 3, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Study after study confirms that wearing a mask is the single best 
protection against spreading and receiving COVID-19. Modeling data and 
population studies both show a strong effect, but only when masks are 
worn properly and consistently. As Americans, we are told to wear a 
mask in the grocery store and the doctor's office, and if we were to 
remove our mask to eat a sandwich or sip a beverage in those 
environments, we'd be escorted off the premises. Flight attendants work 
in one of the most densely-occupied spaces in the world with windows 
that don't open, doors that aren't available most of the time, and 
limited ventilation.
    Until the public health emergency is fully behind us, TSA and FAA 
must continue to send a consistent message about masking up to prevent 
onboard disease transmission, including mandatory, regular 
announcements for passengers to not remove their mask until the flight 
attendants have passed their row and, even then, to only ``dip'' their 
mask down momentarily to take a bite or sip (``dip and sip''). AFA 
recommends that airlines only serve cold food and drinks on flights 
less than 1,800 miles or three hours, that drinks are only distributed 
in individual cans/bottles, and that onboard alcohol sales are 
suspended until the pandemic is over.
Unruly and violent passengers
    Starting in mid-2020 and worsening in 2021, crewmembers have 
experienced a notable increase in the frequency and intensity of 
disruptive passenger incidents, many of which involve the combination 
of alcohol and a refusal to comply with mask rules. As referenced 
above, AFA is deeply appreciative of the leadership from FAA 
Administrator Dickson who issued a new order on Jan. 13, 2021 \9\ to 
enhance enforcement and penalties against disruptive passengers, and 
extended the same order on March 17.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ https://www.faa.gov/news/media/attachments/
Order2150.3C_CHG%204.pdf
    \10\ https://apnews.com/article/travel-stephen-dickson-airlines-
4022dce6b791b99b11bde22a86d
877f4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Unfortunately, the Administrator's decision to extend the enhanced 
enforcement program was borne of necessity. The Associated Press 
detailed a sobering FAA report that since late December, airlines have 
reported more than 500 cases of unruly passengers.\11\ The FAA told AP 
that it was reviewing more than 450 of the cases and has ``started 
enforcement action against about 20 people,'' in some cases pursuing 
civil penalties in excess of $10,000 or $20,000 for obscenities, 
shouting, refusal to follow instructions, and violence against flight 
personnel. In the charged environment in which we are attempting to 
regain control and restore confidence, we ask that the Committee join 
our efforts to maintain clear rules and robust Federal enforcement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ https://apnews.com/article/travel-stephen-dickson-airlines-
4022dce6b791b99b11bde22a86d
877f4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keep airline workers and passengers safe from exposure
    Although vaccination rates are climbing among flight crews, 
frontline workers in our industry remain at significant risk of 
exposure. Crewmembers need consistent, safety-oriented definitions for 
what constitutes an exposure and need access to testing and pay-
protected quarantines that put safety first. Particularly with PSP in 
place through September 30, carriers have the flexibility to ensure 
safe crews.
    We also need better notification when crews and passengers are 
exposed to COVID-19. Wherever possible, airlines should be required to 
conduct a 72-hour lookback in response to a report of passenger or crew 
infection, with timely notification to flight attendants. The Public 
Health Agency of Canada maintains a website with a list of flights, 
including the date, airline, flight number, city pair (and seat number, 
if known), during which there was a report of one or more positive 
COVID-19 cases. The list provides a useful and inexpensive first step 
for contact tracing in a timely way. On this, we should follow the lead 
of our northern neighbor.
Maximizing onboard ventilation and filtration
    We urge the FAA to go beyond a recommendation and to mandate that 
all recirculated air on aircraft be filtered to the high-efficiency 
particulate air (HEPA) standard. Airlines and manufacturers 
consistently claim that the high air exchange rate onboard aircraft 
protects passengers and crew from airborne exposure to viruses like 
COVID-19. While the air exchange rate onboard is high, so too is the 
production of ``bioeffluents'' onboard--the gases and particles, 
including viruses, exhaled by people. In the small space of the cabin, 
the rate of dilution of bioeffluents is consistently and considerably 
lower than in ground-based environments. Ensuring that aircraft 
ventilation systems are operating to maximize health and safety 
protects passengers and crew, minimize risk of transmission, and help 
build consumer confidence.
Implementing effective disinfection/sanitation protocols will help 
        restore passenger confidence
    As we seek to restore public confidence in air travel, we encourage 
our Federal agency and industry partners to work together on cleaning, 
disinfecting, and sanitation standards that meet best practices for 
addressing COVID-19. All planes should have hot water and soap 
available for proper hand washing in every cabin restroom and, widely-
available alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Building Back Better in commercial aviation
    The pandemic's unprecedented disruption has given all of us that 
chance to consider the future of aviation and how we build back safer 
and better than before. We offer a few thoughts here on reforms that we 
hope to work with Congress to support in the American Jobs Plan and 
other legislation.
Aviation can lead in protecting against the next crisis
    In a crisis, we pull together to contain the threat and investigate 
the event fully to determine the changes necessary to ensure tragedy is 
not repeated. The human loss and economic disaster of this pandemic 
also serves as a clarion call to enact mitigation factors before the 
next world wide crisis bears down fully. Reactive measures stand little 
chance of containing the existential threat. As we build back from this 
pandemic, airline workers stand with Congress and the Administration as 
we work to rebuild our economy with a focus on sustainability and a 
commitment to addressing the climate crisis with urgent action. From 
the projected rise in severe turbulence to increases in weather-related 
disasters, Flight Attendants see and feel the growing consequences of 
climate inaction in our daily lives. We also know that leadership on 
climate must be rooted firmly in promoting good, union jobs and 
protections of income, retirement, and healthcare for workers in 
affected industries, and in the new jobs we create.
    We believe that American aviation is positioned to rebound from 
COVID-19 with a new commitment to sustainability and climate action, 
grounded in emerging technology and science. We applaud the steps that 
our industry has taken in recent years to reduce emissions and develop 
solutions to achieve net zero emissions, including with cleaner fuels 
and more efficient air traffic controls. AFA will continue to advocate 
for our companies to set more ambitious climate goals and incorporate 
new strategies. We believe that investments in the American Jobs Plan, 
including government support for sustainable aviation fuel and other 
programs, can help accelerate the progress our industry is making and 
position American aviation to model climate leadership for the world.
Aviation workers deserve access to job-protected sick time
    All workers should be able to take a job-protected sick day, rather 
than come to work ill. In the absence of a uniform, national paid 
family or sick leave program, 13 states and the District of Columbia 
have stepped in to guarantee the access to sick time and/or paid leave. 
This number is sure to grow in the coming months and years, with new 
bills introduced across the country.
    Unfortunately, the industry has opposed efforts to extend state 
sick leave protections to aviation personnel, going so far as to sue 
states that cover airline workers. We urge Congress to ensure that 
airline workers can access local paid family and sick leaves and also 
back employee-protected, national paid family and sick leave programs 
that would support our workforce all across the country. Even today, 
Flight Attendants are at risk of discipline simply for going to a 
vaccine appointment. It is time to guarantee job-protected sick time 
for all workers.
Protect children by requiring seats for all
    If you visit the FAA's website today, you would learn that Federal 
safety officials consider the use of child restraint seats (CRS) the 
safest way for infants and small children to fly. The website is 
explicit that ``[y]our arms aren't capable of holding your child 
securely, especially during unexpected turbulence.\12\ However, the use 
of CRS remains a recommendation, twenty years after the American 
Academy of Pediatrics first called on the FAA to require CRS. Infants 
and children under the age of two continue to fly on laps without their 
own seat. It is past time to mandate flight protection for our youngest 
passengers, and as we consider social distancing and mask concerns it 
is certainly time to implement this regulation for the safety of our 
smallest passengers and everyone on board with them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ https://www.faa.gov/travelers/fly_children/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accountability and neutrality in airline contracting and high quality 
        jobs
    Members of this Committee have heard repeated concerns from labor 
and worker advocacy organizations about the mistreatment of workers by 
airline contractors. Despite your best efforts to protect the jobs of 
workers in cleaning, catering, and other contracted services during the 
pandemic, far too many employees of airline contractors were laid off 
or involuntarily furloughed in clear violation of the PSP rules. The 
Trump Administration and senior Treasury officials in the previous 
administration ignored repeated calls from labor and watchdog 
organizations to hold contractors accountable, even sanctioning their 
violations. The problem now is that all of us have come to expect too 
little. The essential workers at these companies deserve much more.
    In the wake of smaller airline bankruptcies, access to lower cost 
aircraft, and pent up leisure travel demand, the entrance of new start-
ups into the sector requires close monitoring. Competition in aviation 
can provide consumer choice and create jobs, but when cost-savings are 
achieved by cutting wages and benefits, our passengers and the entire 
workforce suffer. For this reason, AFA is closely watching new start-
ups like Breeze Airways. Already we are seeing questionable hiring 
practices associated with a ``work study program'' that smells of age, 
gender, and race discrimination with no long-term career options, and 
major costs of employment shifted to the temporary workers. Our union 
is taking steps to protect these would-be Flight Attendants.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\ https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/afacwa/pages/81/
attachments/original/16188647
36/AFA-UVU-FlightAttendant-WorkStudy-20210413.pdf?1618864736
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As we turn to recovery in aviation, the widespread mistreatment of 
low wage employees of airline contractors is an issue that must be a 
priority to fix. We cannot continue to accept the fissuring, 
insecurity, and the hostility to organizing and worker rights in the 
lowest paid jobs in aviation, jobs disproportionately held by women, 
Black, Brown, and immigrant workers. We hope that you will work with us 
to ensure that all employers in aviation provide a living wage, safe 
and secure employment, and allow their workers to choose union 
representation without company interference. Dollars spent on union-
busting are diverted from worker pay, benefits, and consumer 
experience. With the backing of the Federal government, we can bring 
needed reforms to ensure aviation provides good jobs across the 
industry.
Closing
    We thank the Committee for inviting our union here today to reflect 
on the recovery of aviation and the path ahead. COVID-19 has had a more 
severe impact on aviation than any other economic downturn or crisis in 
the 100 year history of our industry. There is no doubt that our 
country and the airline industry have the experience and resources to 
restore public confidence and return to the skies better than before. 
Aviation has a long history of collaboration among government, 
industry, unions, scientists, and consumers. This collaboration and 
careful approach to layered safety, security and health has built the 
safest mode of transportation, the backbone of the American economy, 
and the access that we enjoy around the world.

    Senator Sinema. Thank you.
    Our next witness is Nick Calio, the President and CEO of 
Airlines for America, the trade association for 10 of the 
country's leading passenger and cargo airlines, a position he's 
held since 2011.
    Mr. Calio, thanks so much for joining us today. You are 
recognized for your opening statement.

          STATEMENT OF NICK CALIO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 
                   AIRLINES FOR AMERICA (A4A)

    Mr. Calio. Ranking Member Cruz, I also want to include 
Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker in this, A4A 
appreciates the opportunity to be here to talk to the Committee 
today about the impact of COVID on the commercial aviation 
industry.
    I want to personally thank the four of you, this committee, 
and the entire Congress for the care and attention you have 
given our industry and our employees over the last year. We 
would not be where we are today without you.
    Our employees, both cargo and passenger, have worked 
tirelessly to seamlessly distribute medical supplies, 
personnel, and now the vaccine throughout the country and 
throughout this pandemic.
    COVID eviscerated the passenger airline industry. We all 
have balance sheets. My members all have balance sheets that 
were built up to withstand an event three times that of 9/11. 
Those balance sheets were devastated within weeks.
    For context, the last time I appeared before the Congress 
committee was last May. Passenger volumes were down 95 percent. 
3,000 planes were parked, half the entire fleet. Companies were 
losing $10 billion to $12 billion a month, and, as we all know, 
airports were like ghost towns.
    From the beginning, we joined hands with our labor partners 
and with a single unified voice we asked you to save our jobs. 
You did. This committee led the way and there has been a lot to 
make out of that.
    You made an investment in the companies and our employees 
and it's already paying off. It paid off initially and it 
continues to pay off now as loans get paid off and companies 
get a part of their stock for what they got for the loans.
    So from the start talking about some of the things that 
happened, we very quickly leaned into science and data very 
heavily. Our members have always done that, but the pandemic 
created a very new normal. We initiated mask requirements and 
health declarations forms last April and, by the way, Chair 
Sinema, we would support extending the mask Federal mandate, 
please.
    We also enhanced our disinfection protocols and our 
cleaning protocols. We already had hospital grade ventilation 
systems on most planes. Most people did not know that, but that 
lends a significant amount of confidence and has a lot to do 
about why it's safe to fly.
    Finally, there were new technologies created to reduce the 
touch points along the travel experience. Researchers at the 
Aviation Public Health Initiative at the Harvard School of 
Public Health, of which Dr. Marcus is a part, concluded that 
flying is as safe, if not significantly safer, than other 
activities, like eating out, going to the grocery store, or a 
bar, or a library.
    USTRANSCOM and IATA came up with similar conclusions. 
USTRANSCOM said with the ventilation systems and other layers 
of risk mitigation in place, the chance of having transmission 
from someone sitting next to you was .003 percent.
    So the evidence is unequivocal. It is safe to fly with the 
layers of risk mitigation in place. We shouldn't forget that. 
We're not out of the woods. Recovery is going to take years, as 
Director Reynolds pointed out.
    We do see some light at the end of the tunnel. You, like 
we, have probably seen that there are more people at the 
airports and there's an uptick in the number of passengers 
traveling.
    However, for context, passenger volumes are still down 40 
percent from what they were in 2019. We're still burning $10 
million a day, although we hope to break even by the end of the 
year. There are 30 percent fewer flights than there used to be, 
and, critically, business and international travel are down 
anywhere from 75 to 90 percent, depending upon where you're 
looking. There are signs that business travel might be picking 
up some, but getting back to where we were is a long, long way 
off.
    The international market clearly because of what's going on 
is going to take longer, but in that regard, we would like to 
work with this committee and we're working with the 
Administration for the U.S. to take leadership in creating 
basically a roadmap to recovery where we understand how our 
public health officials are making decisions about which 
countries are safe and which are not and what criteria and 
metrics it will take to take a country off the restricted list 
or off the quarantine list. That's critically important for us 
to get back to where we are.
    So with that, Madam Chair, I want to thank you again for 
having me here to testify, and we look forward to working with 
you. We appreciate you and the Ranking Member's work on contact 
tracing over the last year, and I think the lesson here for all 
of us, the aviation ecosystem came together, shared 
information, worked really hard together as we did with our 
labor partners. That should be the model going forward so that 
the next time something happens, we are more ready than we 
were. Let's hope nothing of this magnitude ever happens again.
    Thank you again.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Calio follows:]

         Prepared Statement of Nick Calio, President and CEO, 
                       Airlines for America (A4A)
Thank You
    Airlines for America (A4A) appreciates the opportunity to testify 
today to share with you the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 
commercial aviation industry. At the outset, I would like to thank 
Congress, including many on this Committee, for your leadership and 
bipartisan support of the aviation worker payroll support program 
(PSP). The PSP was first established in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 
and Economic Security (CARES) Act and subsequently extended in the 
COVID Relief packages passed in December 2020 and March of this year. 
Those provisions have supplemented the U.S. airline industry's ability 
to make payroll and exclusively protect the jobs of flight attendants, 
pilots, gate agents, mechanics and others. Without the PSP, the 
economic impacts of the pandemic would have been even more devastating 
to our workforce.
    We appreciate that Congress has recognized that our employees are 
the backbone of the industry and its greatest resource, along with 
being an important component of broader U.S. economic recovery.
    Congress has truly been a champion of the U.S. aviation worker and 
we sincerely thank you.
What Is Past is Prologue
    This is the most challenging period in aviation history, but prior 
to the pandemic we were experiencing what many have called the ``Golden 
Age'' of air travel. U.S. airlines were flying 2.5 million passengers 
and more than 58,000 tons of cargo each day. In 2019, U.S. airlines 
carried an all-time high 927 million passengers in scheduled service. 
Those record numbers were in large part because of two main factors: 
affordability and accessibility. Accounting for inflation, and 
including ancillary services, average domestic ticket prices fell 15 
percent from 2014-2019, 22 percent from 2000-2019 and 44 percent from 
1979-2019--the 40-year period following the Airline Deregulation Act of 
1978. Those lower fares made commercial air travel accessible to nearly 
all Americans. In fact, 42 percent of Americans who flew in 2019 had 
family incomes under $75,000. Further, in 1971 only 49 percent of 
Americans had ever flown commercially; by 2019, that figure had climbed 
to 86 percent.
    In February 2020, before the onset of the pandemic, U.S. passenger 
and cargo airlines directly employed 757,000 workers and commercial 
aviation supported 10 million U.S. jobs and drove over five percent of 
the U.S. gross domestic product.
    Air travel was opening doors and connecting loved ones across all 
walks of life and economic circumstances, not just an affluent few. It 
was also providing well-paying careers for hundreds of thousands of 
employees, all dedicated to an industry that is truly a modern-day 
indispensable manifestation of freedom and mobility. Our industry is 
working every day to rebuild the foundation necessary to restore and 
recover, but much has passed over the course of the last year.
The Ides of March: Economic Devastation
    Almost overnight, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. 
and the bottom fell out of the airline industry. As travel restrictions 
and stay-at-home orders were implemented, demand for air travel 
declined sharply and suddenly. Though air cargo volumes have held, the 
pandemic eviscerated passenger air travel. Coming off all-time highs in 
2019, passenger traffic on U.S. airlines rose five percent in the first 
two months of 2020 only to fall by 96 percent six weeks later, to a 
level not seen since the dawn of the jet age in the 1950s. There was a 
slight uptick over the summer and into the fall of last year, but 
passenger levels remain 40 percent below year-ago levels and revenues 
are down about 60 percent due to the near-absence of business travel 
and international travel. The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) 
expects overall business travel spending in the U.S. to reach just 73 
percent of 2019 levels by 2024.
    Years of work to strengthen balance sheets--recognized widely by 
analysts and investors--were reversed overnight by COVID-19, as 
evidenced by a series of downgrades by the major rating agencies. After 
10 consecutive years of modest profitability, U.S. passenger carriers 
reported $46 billion in pretax losses in 2020, with analysts currently 
projecting $16 billion more in 2021. To put it into perspective, 2018 
and 2019 were two years of modest profit for the industry. However, 
when combined with 2020 and 2021, the cumulative pre-tax losses for 
that four-year period are expected to reach $23 billion. Quite simply, 
the losses have been swift and profound.
    Collectively, U.S. airlines are hoping to achieve breakeven cash 
flow at some point in late 2021. To survive, they have worked at a 
furious pace to shed operating costs and trim capital expenditures. 
More alarmingly, they have been forced to sell assets and take on 
massive amounts of debt, up an estimated $58 billion from year-end 2019 
to year-end 2020. This giant increase in debt translates to projected 
interest expense of $5 billion annually in 2021, 2022 and 2023--two-
and-a-half times the amounts paid in 2018 and 2019.
    Given the economic maelstrom, the U.S. airline industry will remain 
smaller for years to come. Rebuilding will take time. The return of 
demand, particularly from corporate travelers, will be key to that 
timeline.
Payroll Support Program for Aviation Labor Workforce
    On behalf of our employees, we remain eternally grateful to 
Congress for their role in establishing the PSP at the U.S. Treasury 
Department. However, I do feel compelled to clarify the practical and 
factual realities around what the PSP is and what the PSP is not, as 
some have erroneously referred to the program as an airline bailout. 
This simply is not true.
    The PSP is, as the CARES Act and subsequent extensions clearly 
state, financial assistance provided to eligible air carriers that is 
``exclusively for the continuation of payment of employee wages, 
salaries, and benefits'' for employees defined as individuals at those 
carriers that are not corporate officers. More simply, PSP funds are a 
pass-through to airline workers.
    These aviation workforce funds are truly an investment in our 
economy. In fact, PSP could be used as an example of a government 
program that works, as it has effectively met the goals and intended 
purpose of the program to preserve jobs. The program has the downstream 
benefit of helping federal/state/local income tax revenues, along with 
Social Security and Medicare tax contributions. The program also helps 
avoid billions of dollars' worth of unemployment claims at both the 
state and Federal level. Additionally, the PSP supports multiple 
billions of economic spending in the U.S. economy--as every dollar 
spent of airline wages generates additional spending as the recipients 
spend that income in their local economy.
    PSP is neither an airline bailout nor a panacea for addressing the 
economic impacts of the pandemic. As opposed to almost all other relief 
measures in the CARES Act, the PSP funds, under the auspices of being 
`grants', came with significant eligibility requirements including 
workforce retention commitments; air service obligations; compensation 
restrictions; a repayment requirement of 29 percent of the funds with 
interest to Treasury; and the issuance of warrants to Treasury. Air 
carriers, despite only serving as simple pass-throughs of the funds, 
agreed to these terms in an on-going effort to support their labor 
workforce. Participation in the program comes at a price; for the nine 
largest passenger airlines--after deducting the amount repayable to the 
U.S. Treasury--the PSP funds covered 82 percent of payroll expenses, 
leaving them with a $3.7 billion shortfall for the applicable six-month 
period.
    We mention this to explain and level-set what the PSP program has 
meant to airline ledgers. The same logic holds true for the recently 
enacted PSP3. That $14 billion is estimated to cover 60 percent of the 
industry's projected full-employment payroll costs from April 2021 
through September 2021.
    The fact of the matter is, without that supplemental relief, 
thousands more aviation workers would have lost their jobs or 
experienced reductions to wages and benefits. Support of PSP funding 
was an explicit recognition that the industry's financial outlook 
remains bleak, inundated with debt for years to come, some directly 
undertaken to support and maintain our labor workforces.
CARES Act Loans
    U.S. passenger carriers also have access to $19 billion in CARES 
Act loans. As opposed to the PSP financial assistance for workers, the 
loans are intended to help airlines continue operations while demand 
remains significantly impaired. Notably, and on top of the warrants 
issued on PSP funds, Treasury will also receive warrants to purchase 
common stock equal to ten percent of the total loan amount for each 
participating air carrier. Combined with the PSP funds, the Federal 
loan eligibility came at a time when carriers were in most need of 
immediate flexibility to deal with the lightning speed at which the 
pandemic decimated demand for air travel. No carrier covets taking 
Federal loans, but the industry is sincerely appreciative of the timely 
relief put forward at the beginning of this unrivaled global economic 
crisis. They are eager to repay these loans in full as soon as 
financially feasible, and some have already done so.
Self-Help Measures and Private Financing
    Air carriers have also engaged in significant self-help measures to 
bolster their liquidity which will be critical to survive this 
unparalleled economic event. These self-help measures include, but are 
not limited to:

   Accessing outside sources of cash such as, but not limited 
        to, unsecured or secured loans amounting to more than $86 
        billion and $8 billion in equity sales since late February 
        2020;

   Restructuring aircraft order books through negotiations with 
        manufacturers;

   Announcing the accelerated retirement of more than 600 
        aircraft, more than half of which exited the fleet in 2020;

   Halting almost all discretionary (not operationally 
        critical) capital projects;

   Trimming unprofitable flying;

   Redeploying some passenger aircraft to provide essential 
        cargo-only service to transport medical and other essential 
        supplies;

   Negotiating with vendors and airport partners to secure 
        relief on payment terms and timing; and

   Securing voluntary unpaid leaves of absence or salary 
        reductions.

    To the last point, we are grateful for the strong collaboration 
between labor and management to address the realities of this crisis. 
While the numbers continue to fluctuate as the economic situation 
evolves, since the onset of the pandemic approximately 50,000 employees 
have opted for early retirement or other form of voluntary separation 
and more than 100,000 have opted for voluntary unpaid leave of absence 
or voluntary compensation adjustment, which has brought much needed 
flexibility. We appreciate all employees who have dedicated their lives 
to the U.S. airline industry and are helping the industry to survive 
this public health crisis.
Cash Burn = $100 Million Per Day
    Even with all the public and private actions previously outlined, 
U.S. carriers are currently burning an estimated $100 million of cash 
every day, which includes servicing the massive debt load that will 
burden the companies for several years. Airlines have made strides by 
significantly reducing operating and capital costs, but ongoing revenue 
declines, higher fuel prices and debt repayment with interest mean that 
the industry will continue to burn cash through most of 2021. While 
2022 and 2023 are expected to be stronger years, 2021 will be a 
transition year.
Perseverance
    Since the April 2020 low-water mark, demand has seen a slow climb, 
with the shape of recovery best described as a reclining ``L'' and 
bookings for the highly coveted corporate air travel segment--over a 
year into the pandemic--down a staggering 80 percent from 2019 levels. 
In March, air travel between the U.S. and foreign countries fell 76 
percent below March 2019. For 16 of the top 25 U.S.-international 
country pairs, volumes were down more than 90 percent. In fact, air 
travel between the U.S. and Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Italy, 
Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK was down more than 95 percent. 
While the advent of multiple vaccines is encouraging, we do not expect 
volumes to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023. As 
traffic recovery eventually leads to revenue recovery, shoring up our 
financial condition will be paramount. Carriers will need to retire the 
massive sums of debt they have taken on to cope with the evaporation of 
demand and consequent depletion of cash reserves. It will take years, 
not months, to pay off that debt. Until that time, we will see a much 
smaller industry with fewer operations, aircraft and workers and scarce 
funds available for investment in their products.
    The economic contribution of international travel and tourism 
cannot be overstated. According to the World Travel and Tourism 
Council, the U.S. is set to lose $155 billion from the economy due to 
the collapse of international travel. A strong and stable aviation 
industry is a key building block for a global recovery from the COVID-
19 pandemic. In 2019, international travel imports totaled $196 
billion, creating a $59 billion travel trade surplus. Importantly, 
international travel spending directly supported about 1.2 million U.S. 
jobs and $33.6 billion in wages.
Applied Science
    Since the beginning of this crisis, U.S. airlines have relied on 
science to help guide decisions as they continuously reevaluate and 
update their processes, procedures and protocols in light of the 
pandemic. U.S. airlines have implemented multiple layers of measures 
aimed at preventing virus transmission onboard the aircraft, including 
strict face covering requirements, pre-flight health forms, enhanced 
disinfection protocols, hospital-grade filtration systems, air 
exchanges onboard aircraft that remove viruses, and new boarding and 
deplaning procedures.
    Research has also shown that this layered approach makes the risk 
of virus transmission onboard aircraft very low, specifically:

   US TRANSCOM released a study showing the low risk of COVID-
        19 transmission on commercial aircraft. Technicians ran 300 
        tests over six months with mannequins to reproduce breathing 
        and coughing to determine how particles moved within the cabin 
        when a mask was on or off. The study concluded that when masks 
        are worn, there is a 0.003 percent chance that particles from a 
        passenger can enter the breathing space of passengers sitting 
        next to them.

   Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Aviation (APHI) 
        further affirmed that the risk of onboard transmission is low. 
        The Harvard APHI research was the first to evaluate the entire 
        inflight experience including boarding and deplaning. The 
        results confirmed that--due to the multiple layers of 
        protection noted above--the risk of transmission on an airplane 
        is ``very low'' and that being on an airplane is ``as safe if 
        not significantly safer'' than routine activities such as going 
        to the grocery store and eating at a restaurant. Further, the 
        Harvard researchers concluded that this multi-layered approach 
        is so effective that the possibility of exposure to COVID-19 is 
        reduced to a point so low that it ``effectively counters the 
        proximity travelers are subject to during flights.''

    The Harvard research team also published results from a second 
phase of their research in February. While the first phase of research 
focused on the ``gate to gate'' experience, the second phase broadened 
the scope to include the ``curb to curb'' experience at airports. The 
key takeaways of the second phase are also inciteful, namely that 
airports have been proactive in implementing measures to combat the 
COVID-19 pandemic and that the application of a multi-layered approach 
significantly contributes to risk reduction.
    If there is any silver lining to this pandemic, it is the fact that 
industrywide, from manufacturers to air carriers, we have come to 
together to share information and tackle issues head-on with science 
and data at a level unseen before. This experience has honed a focus on 
a common goal that will lead us out of this pandemic and provide the 
science and data to address future challenges.
Recovery
    Our industry has a history of being resilient. The financial 
priorities for airlines are clear: reduce cash burn, restore 
profitability and repair balance sheets. And given the freedom to do 
so, U.S. airlines will do just that; but the hurdle will be higher this 
time. Prior to COVID-19, the rule of thumb was to have a cash cushion 
that could withstand an event three times the magnitude of 9/11. With 
the reality of a pandemic now painfully apparent, boardrooms, workers 
and investors will all expect even stronger airline balance sheets than 
before, allowing these companies to tap capital markets fully and 
swiftly in the future--without depending on Federal assistance--while 
avoiding extreme distress and painful cuts for employees. While the 
passage of time will provide much more clarity, we believe the new 
reality will manifest itself in many ways, including:

   100-Year Flood Events. In March of last year, airlines were 
        prepared for an event similar to 9/11, but the time has come 
        again for airlines to rethink again how they manage balance 
        sheets broadly, and cash specifically, to withstand a future 
        crisis of the unprecedented magnitude of COVID-19. Before 9/11, 
        the rule of thumb was to keep 10-15 percent of trailing 12-
        month revenues in the form of cash. Post-9/11, that rose to 20-
        25 percent. It has yet to be determined what the right metric 
        is, let alone the right amount, but it is certainly something 
        that will be seriously evaluated.

   Credit Ratings. Creditworthiness will likely be more 
        important than ever, as carriers who enjoy better ratings are 
        generally able to borrow larger sums of money at lower interest 
        rates. Liquidity will be examined in close conjunction with 
        creditworthiness. Having too much liquidity on the balance 
        sheet is an inefficient way to run a business but having too 
        little can put companies at undue risk of bankruptcy. Coming up 
        with the right balance will be an important consideration 
        moving forward as the major rating agencies assess financial 
        health.

   Sustained Profitability. One important and simple solution 
        to recovery entails giving airlines the freedom to right their 
        own ships--to allow them to achieve sustained profitability, 
        with meaningful margins--over an entire business cycle--rather 
        than consistently trailing the U.S. average. Allowing the 
        marketplace to work will be essential to mitigate future risk.

    Time and again, our industry has proven its resilience and agility. 
With that in mind, we have every reason to believe that our Nation's 
airlines will emerge from this crisis even stronger than before, in a 
way that helps empower the recovery of the U.S. economy and allows 
friends, family and businesspeople to meet face-to-face in a matter of 
hours once again.
Roadmap
    Congress and the Administration will play a critical role in global 
recovery, especially as it pertains to America's aviation, travel and 
tourism industries. The entire aviation and tourism community shares a 
concerted commitment to public health measures. We also believe, given 
the increasing number of vaccinations and health measures in place to 
mitigate transmission, that there should be a path to allow travel and 
economic growth to safely resume. We need government leadership on the 
international stage to provide that roadmap.
    Specifically, in conjunction with a broad spectrum of travel and 
tourism coalition members, we respectfully urge the Federal government 
to partner with industry to develop a risk-based, data-driven roadmap 
to rescind inbound international travel restrictions issued under 
section 212(f) of the Immigration and National Act (INA). By developing 
clear metrics, benchmarks and a timeline for rescinding entry 
restrictions on international travelers, we can safely:

   Maintain strong risk-based protections against the spread of 
        COVID-19 and importation of new variants;

   Encourage business and leisure travelers to prepare for and 
        comply with requirements for a safe reopening of inbound and 
        outbound international travel by the summer of 2021; and

   Accelerate rehiring and economic recovery in the travel and 
        aviation industries.

    To be clear, at this time, we do not support removal or easing of 
core public health protections, such as the universal mask mandate, 
inbound international testing requirement, physical distancing or other 
measures that have made travel safer and reduced transmission of the 
virus. However, the data and science demonstrate that the right public 
health measures are now in place to effectively mitigate risk and allow 
for the safe removal of entry restrictions.
    We look forward to working with the Committee on the elements of 
that roadmap, but time is of the essence and the need to reopen 
international travel is urgent. The world is evolving quickly, public 
sentiment to get back to normalcy is on the rise and the need for 
leadership is palpable. We need a risk-based, data-driven roadmap if we 
intend to be ready for that growing reality and sensibility.
Air Cargo
    In a year filled with layers of struggle and financial loss, and 
despite the devastating impacts of COVID-19 across global economies, 
the pandemic has shown the indispensable role that passenger carriers 
and all-cargo air carriers play in both the domestic and global supply 
chain. In 2020, U.S. airlines carried an all-time high 63,000 tons of 
freight, mail and express packages per day--an 8 percent increase from 
2019. That momentum appears to be continuing in 2021, with DOT 
reporting that U.S. airlines carried 12 percent more cargo in January 
than they did in January 2019.
    Through close coordination with the healthcare community and 
federal, state and local governments, the airline industry ensured the 
supply of personal protective equipment, diagnostic test kits, 
essential medical supplies, humanitarian aid and vaccines across the 
globe. They carried electronic equipment to make sure that teachers and 
students had access to learning resources while schools were closed. 
They have played an outsized role during the pandemic and will most 
certainly be critical to paving the way toward global herd immunity and 
a return to a modicum of normalcy. Until one steps back to fully 
appreciate the logistical effectiveness and efficiency of our all-cargo 
operators, it is easy to take them for granted and thoroughly recognize 
the incredible contribution they make to our daily lives. They are 
vital to our standard of living, but this crisis has shown the pivotal 
role they play in saving lives.
Do No Harm
    Over the course of the pandemic our industry has needed to remain 
nimble and vigilant to many well-intended, but sometimes unnecessary, 
mis-guided and/or untimely, legislative and regulatory proposals. As we 
continue to face the challenges of today and drive toward a time when 
we can cross the long precipice to actual recovery and growth, we 
respectfully request that policymakers restrain from adopting punitive 
policies such as tax or fee increases or onerous rules and regulations 
that will otherwise cause harm to our debilitated industry. Doing so 
will only hamstring our ability to recover and undermine the basic 
underpinnings and purpose of the relief provided to our labor 
workforce. This crisis was not caused or brought on by the airlines and 
should not be used for convenient legislative opportunism to reregulate 
or refashion what was a highly competitive and burgeoning well-paid job 
creator prior to the pandemic.
Conclusion
    U.S. airlines have always been critical to our Nation's economy and 
infrastructure. Now, as our Nation looks toward the future, and resumes 
connecting American communities, families and businesses with each 
other and with the rest of the world, A4A and our member carriers stand 
ready to work with Congress and the Administration to help speed the 
recovery of our industry, the Nation and the world from the COVID-19 
pandemic. Now, more than ever, the U.S. commercial aviation industry 
wants to lead the way to economic recovery while prioritizing the 
safety of our passengers and employees.

    Senator Sinema. Thank you so much.
    Our fourth witness is Dr. Leonard Marcus, the Founding 
Director of the Program for Health Care Negotiation and 
Conflict Resolution at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public 
Health.
    Dr. Marcus is a Co-Director of the Aviation Public Health 
Initiative, which studies aircraft and airport practices and 
their impacts on public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Dr. Marcus, thank you for joining us today, and you are 
recognized for your opening statement.

        STATEMENT OF LEONARD J. MARCUS, Ph.D., DIRECTOR,

           HARVARD AVIATION PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVE,

           HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

          AND THE HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

    Dr. Marcus. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Sinema, and 
congratulations, Ranking Member Cruz, and other distinguished 
Members of the Subcommittee.
    My name is Leonard Marcus. I'm the Director of the Harvard 
Aviation Public Health Initiative, a project of the National 
Preparedness Leadership Initiative or NPLI.
    My expertise is in crisis leadership and the NPLI, which I 
direct, studies, works with, and teaches leaders in times of 
crisis.
    On behalf of my many colleagues at Harvard University who 
contributed to the Aviation Public Health Initiative research 
and recommendations, I appreciate the opportunity to share with 
you our findings on science-based measures to reduce risk and 
increase public health safety for those who work and travel on 
the Nation's airways.
    In my written testimony, I outlined the findings of the two 
reports and the extensive research conducted by the APHI. The 
first report studied COVID onboard aircraft and the multiple 
layers of ventilation, face masks, distancing on jet bridges, 
disinfection and hygiene that combine to lower the risks of 
disease transmission.
    The second report looked at COVID in airports and the 
parallel sets of precautions taken by many airports to mitigate 
disease spread.
    In that first report, we found that when aircraft are on 
the ground and ventilation systems are not operating, which can 
happen when planes are parked at the terminal, on the tarmac, 
or when deicing, the risks of disease transmission would 
increase because air is no longer circulating and refreshed.
    We recommended that airlines change their practices to 
ensure active ventilation during these periods on the ground. 
The major domestic airlines accepted and adopted this 
recommendation shortly after the release of our first report.
    The country now sees vaccination rates rising significantly 
among eligible adults. The CDC recently announced that fully 
vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves. For 
vaccinated individuals who still bear a small risk of acquiring 
and transmitting the disease, following the guidelines in our 
reports allows them to fly with a high degree of confidence 
while the disease continues to circulate in the population.
    I encourage those interested in reviewing this extensive 
research to visit the Aviation Public Health Initiative website 
at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
    We are in the midst of a year plus global public health 
crisis that has infected in this country 32 million people and 
has killed over 582,000. How will we lead the country out of 
this crisis and beyond, back to normalcy and forward to 
resiliency?
    Our program at Harvard studies leaders in times o crisis. 
Eight years ago this month, we studied leaders of the Boston 
Marathon bombings. While this pandemic is a different crisis, 
lessons in leadership from that research apply now to this 
project and to our country.
    What we discovered about those leaders in Boston is that 
they worked together seamlessly and instinctively in response 
to the immediacy of the crisis. As we reviewed our data, we 
realized they acted like a swarm with collaborative actions and 
decisions revealing a remarkable intelligence and cohesion. 
They were Boston Strong.
    In our analysis, we discovered five principles of swarm 
leadership achieved by those Boston leaders. The five 
principles apply to the COVID fight. They are, Number 1, unity 
of mission, save lives, Number 2, generosity of spirit and 
action, all contributing their part to defeat this virus, 
Number 3, everyone stays in their lane of work and helps others 
succeed in theirs, an extraordinary level of cooperation, 
Number 4, no ego, no blame, a personal commitment by everyone 
to win this war together, and, Number 5, a foundation of 
trusting relationships.
    The Aviation Public Health Initiative brought together the 
aviation industry, including many rivals, in a manner akin to 
this swarm leadership. The common purpose, the unity of 
mission, was to understand the COVID disease in the aviation 
environment and to devise mechanisms, based on science, to 
mitigate further disease spread.
    Just as Boston came together to swarm, I contend that so, 
too, our country--am I back? We are at the cusp of vaccinating 
a vast majority of our population. I encourage everyone to get 
vaccinated along with mechanisms to validate those who did.
    For the unwilling, we are at the cusp of developing 
technology to make COVID testing readily available, cheap, 
quick, and reliable. Combine those two measures of vaccination 
or a negative test result for everyone and it is possible for 
us to ensure that airplanes, airports, businesses, restaurants 
and other public venues are close to COVID=free.
    It is an obtainable objective and taking the lessons of the 
Marathon response, we can swarm together, humans versus virus, 
and outsmart the threat by exerting our swarm intelligence.
    In conclusion, the APHI investigation points to the 
importance of long-term science-based research programs 
supported by government and the industry. Given that COVID-19 
could be considered a global trial run, infectious disease risk 
mitigation remains a strategic priority for the aviation 
sector.
    As such, public health safety measures will be a high 
priority for the industry going forward as lessons learned from 
COVID-19 are clear. That is, public health is central to the 
aviation industry's long-term viability.
    I thank you again for the opportunity to share our research 
and I welcome your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Marcus follows:]

  Prepared Statement of Leonard J. Marcus, Ph.D., Director, Aviation 
Public Health Initiative, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and 
                the Harvard Kennedy School of Government
    Good afternoon, Chairwoman Sinema, Ranking Member Cruz and other 
distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Leonard Marcus, 
and I am the Director of the Aviation Public Health Initiative, a 
project of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI). My 
expertise is in crisis leadership, and the NPLI, which I direct, 
studies, works with, and teaches leaders in times of crisis.
    On behalf of my many colleagues at Harvard University who 
contributed to the Aviation Public Health Initiative research and 
recommendations, I appreciate the opportunity to testify today to share 
with you our findings on measures to reduce risk and increase public 
health safety for those who work and travel on the Nation's airways.
    This project arose in response to a complex set of problems during 
an unprecedented crisis. Three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the 
aviation industry faced a significant decline in passenger traffic and 
revenue. There was interest in finding an independent, science-based 
resource to answer difficult public health safety questions, critical 
to both protect the workforce and the public, and essential to 
restarting this important segment of the national economy. Out of that 
interest to reopen the sector safely, discussions began between 
Airlines for America (A4A) and faculty at the National Preparedness 
Leadership Initiative (NPLI), a joint program of the Harvard T.H. Chan 
School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 
Those conversations led to development of the Aviation Public Health 
Initiative (APHI). The APHI assembled a distinguished team of Harvard 
scientists who specialize in environmental health, infectious disease, 
engineering, epidemiology and crisis leadership to investigate risks 
and risk reduction for the aviation workforce and the public during the 
COVID-19 pandemic.
    As lead sponsoring organization, A4A engaged their member 
organizations along with a group of manufacturers and airport 
operators. These companies generously provided financial support, 
shared data and information, facilitated conversations with airport 
COVID-19 working groups, and opened opportunities to speak with the 
airport operators. That breadth of conversation and data access, in the 
midst of the global COVID-19 crisis, was critical to collecting the 
vast body of knowledge required to reach the findings and 
recommendations in our reports. That interest also led to discussions 
and briefs with numerous government officials associated with the 
aviation industry. Through it all, this group of industry and 
government leaders respected the independence of the APHI scientists 
and their research.
    The Aviation Public Health Initiative completed two major reports. 
The Phase One report, released on October 28, 2020, focused on the 
Gate-to-Gate portion of air travel on board aircraft. The Phase Two 
Report, released on February 11, 2021, focused on the Curb-to-Curb 
portion of a journey through airports. Both reports apprised the 
aviation industry and the flying public on the risks of SARS-CoV-2 
transmission during air travel, with independent, science-based 
analysis along with strategies and practices to reduce those risks. 
Since we released those reports, the country has seen vaccination rates 
rise significantly among eligible adults. On April 2, 2021, the CDC 
revised its advisory on travel for vaccinated individuals, ``Given 
recent studies evaluating the real-world effects of vaccination, CDC 
recommends that fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to 
themselves. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after 
receiving the last recommended dose of vaccine.''
    For vaccinated individuals, who still bear a very small risk of 
acquiring and transmitting the disease, following the guidelines in our 
reports allows them to fly with a high degree of confidence while the 
disease continues to circulate in the population. In order to inform 
the committee and the public on how to traverse the airports and 
aircraft safely while the virus continues to circulate, I include at 
the end of this testimony recommendations on how to conduct oneself 
during air travel.
    The investigation established significant reduction of risk of 
SARS-CoV-2 transmission on aircraft and in airports through a 
combination of layered infection control measures. Implementing the 
layered risk mitigation strategies described in our research requires 
passenger and airline compliance. It helps to ensure that air travel, 
with respect to SARS-CoV-2 transmission, can be as safe or 
substantially safer than the routine activities people undertake during 
these times. These findings and recommendations offer the public the 
opportunity to reach informed decisions about air travel. Technical and 
scientific evidence form the foundation of the findings and 
recommendations. Though a formidable adversary, SARS-CoV-2 need not 
overwhelm society's capacity to adapt and progress. It is possible to 
gain a measure of control and to develop strategies that mitigate 
spread of the disease while allowing a careful reopening of society. 
There is much to gain by simply following the science, which itself is 
an important lesson for the future.
    The Phase One research aboard aircraft substantiated that the 
layered approach of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI) instituted 
on commercial aircraft--effectively diluting and removing pathogens and 
in combination with face masks--results in a very low risk of SARS-COV-
2 disease transmission in the air. These synergistic layers, working 
together, include: 1) The onboard ventilation system that continuously 
circulates and refreshes the air supply, filtering out >99 percent of 
the particles that cause COVID-19, and rapidly dispersing exhaled air 
with displacement in the downward direction. This ventilation 
effectively counters the proximity travelers are subject to during 
flights. 2) Universal wearing of facemasks by passengers and crew 
throughout the journey; 3) Distancing protocols during boarding and 
deplaning; 4) Disinfection of high-touch aircraft surfaces to remove 
contamination; and, 5) Passenger attestations that they do not have 
COVID-19 related symptoms and commitment to adhere to airline mask 
policy. Any one of these measures alone, when not in combination with 
the others, will not provide the adequate protection required to reduce 
the risks of disease transmission.
    In that first report, we found that when aircraft are on the ground 
and ventilation systems are not operating--which can happen when planes 
are parked at the terminal, when they are on hold on the tarmac, or 
when they are de-icing--the risks of disease transmission are raised 
because air is no longer circulating and refreshed. We recommended that 
airlines change their practices to ensure active ventilation during 
these periods on the ground. We were heartened to see all the major 
domestic airlines accept and adopt that recommendation shortly after 
release of our report.
    The Phase Two, Curb-to-Curb research focused on airports and 
measures that mitigate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission along with 
recommendations for evaluating and improving operations where 
appropriate. In contrast to an aircraft's standardized and enclosed 
conditions, airports vary in size and passenger volume, configurations, 
indoor environmental dynamics, management structures, traveler 
behaviors and on-location businesses. Nevertheless, the overall 
strategy to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission is similar, namely: a 
multi-layered approach combining measures taken by airport operators, 
airlines, concessioners, workers and, significantly, by travelers. The 
layered approach consists of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI) 
that address ventilation, disinfection, and cleaning along with 
behaviors, including face mask wearing, hand-hygiene, and physical 
distancing. The investigation found that airports have been layering 
risk mitigation strategies to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission for 
passengers, employees, concessionaires, contractors and visitors. Those 
practices target known routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The 
investigation also found that airport mitigation strategies 
demonstrated a substantive grasp of SARS-CoV-2 transmission routes, 
with interventions designed to reduce spread by all known routes. The 
success of risk mitigation requires the comprehensive and coordinated 
implementation of proven strategies by airport and airline operators 
along with behavioral compliance by workers and travelers.
    The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 intensifies or slows, in part, as a 
function of human behavior. Curtailing risky behaviors is key to 
mitigating the pandemic, its anxieties, and its economic implications. 
Those behaviors are straightforward: 1) limit contact with infectious 
droplets and aerosols through mask wearing; 2) reduce contact with 
potentially infectious individuals through physical distancing; and 3) 
maintain personal hygiene (hand washing). The Federal government 
airport and aircraft face mask requirement will contribute 
substantially to aviation public health safety.
    For a far more detailed examination of our investigation and its 
recommendations, I suggest a visit to the Aviation Public Health 
Initiative website, located on the Harvard National Preparedness 
Leadership Initiative page.
    Ms. Chairwoman, Ranking Member Cruz and distinguished Committee 
members, the COVID-19 crisis is not yet behind us. In fact, the 
ambiguities of the next phases of recovery, and the return to normalcy, 
may prove more difficult than what we have already experienced. The 
complexities include pandemic fatigue, social unrest, emerging 
variants, vaccine hesitancy, the strained economy, political and social 
divides, and disparities in vaccine availability around the globe.
    The two reports of the APHI point to the importance of long-term 
science-based research programs supported by government and the 
industry. Given that COVID-19 could be considered a global `trial run', 
infectious disease risk mitigation remains a strategic priority for the 
aviation sector. As such, public health safety measures will be a high 
priority for the industry going forward as lessons learned from COVID-
19 are clear--that is, public health is central to the aviation 
industry's long-term vitality. Harmonizing approaches across the 
aviation sector is important, with governments and airport operators 
following the science and sector-wide standards supporting public 
confidence and recovery of the industry.
    I thank you again for the opportunity to share our research and l 
welcome your questions.
    Your Health Safety COVID-19 Check List for Airport Travelers and 
Employees
          YOUR BEHAVIORS ARE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT COVID DEFENSE
           Ten recommendations for travel through the airport
   1)  Familiarize yourself with and adhere to potential testing and 
        quarantine requirements prior to traveling. Be part of the 
        solution.

   2)  Monitor COVID-19 symptoms. When sick, isolate. Don't fly. Be 
        responsible.

   3)  If exposed to someone positive for COVID-19, follow CDC 
        recommendations to self-quarantine and test.

   4)  Plan your trip through the airport--those steps from the curb to 
        the gate--maintaining physical distance.

   5)  Wear your mask at all times and do not remove it except for very 
        short periods to eat or drink.

   6)  Disinfect hands as a precaution after touching surfaces such as 
        check-in kiosks, TSA security bins, or bathroom fixtures.

   7)  Minimize time in restrooms and avoid crowded restrooms, even 
        though they have negative air pressure.

   8)  Avoid crowded areas, such as boarding gates, until time to do 
        so. Find less crowded areas to wait.

   9)  Politely request face mask compliance from someone not doing so. 
        If refused, alert an airport employee.

  10)  On arrival, maintain distance when retrieving checked baggage.

    Prepared by Faculty of the Harvard T. H Chan School of Public 
Health, Aviation Public Health Initiative. Revised February 11, 2021.
                                 ______
                                 
              Ten recommendations for travel on the plane
   1)  Follow flight crew instructions while on board the aircraft, as 
        is always required.

   2)  Maintain six-foot distance before and after boarding the plane, 
        such as on the jet bridge.

   3)  Keep reasonable distance onboard when stowing and removing 
        overhead luggage.

   4)  Clean hands and your immediate area, including tray tables, 
        armrests and other high touch areas.

   5)  Wear masks at all times during flight, except very short times 
        to eat or drink.

   6)  Politely request face mask compliance from someone not doing so. 
        If they refuse, call a flight attendant.

   7)  Avoid face touching--in particular eyes, nose and mouth--when 
        seated and during bathroom use.

   8)  Avoid congestion in the aisles throughout the trip.

   9)  Alert a flight attendant if someone is symptomatic.

  10)  Do keep hydrated during long flights: Drink prudently by only 
        briefly removing your face mask.

    Prepared by Faculty of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public 
Health, Aviation Public Health Initiative. Revised February 11, 2021
    For more information from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public 
Health, Aviation Public Health Initiative: https://
npli.sph.harvard.edu/crisis-research/aviation-public-health-initiative-
aphi/

    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Dr. Marcus.
    I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questions. My first 
question is for Ms. Reynolds. So thank you for being here and 
for representing the Phoenix Aviation Department and Sky Harbor 
Airport, largest airport in the state of Arizona.
    In fact, as you point out in your testimony, Sky Harbor is 
the largest economic driver in the entire state of Arizona. In 
your testimony, you mentioned that Sky Harbor relied on the 
Federal airport relief during the pandemic.
    Can you describe how the airport has used Federal support 
to continue operations, including your work to help small 
business concessionaires at the airport?
    Ms. Reynolds. Thank you for the question, Chair Sinema.
    The Sky Harbor International Airport utilized the funding 
it received from the Federal Government for operational 
expenses, including cleaning, also to pay debt service, and we 
felt that it was vitally important to assist our small business 
and prime concessionaires.
    We were able to provide multilayer relief to our 
concessionaires in the forms of grants, rent relief, and term 
extensions. Sky Harbor is an award-winning airport and we 
believe that our partners are part of our success and so we 
were very much able or happy to be able to give them relief to 
keep them afloat once we returned to normalcy that ensured that 
our partners were still there with us.
    Thank you.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you.
    My next question is for both Ms. Nelson and Mr. Calio. Both 
of you in your testimony state that Federal support in the form 
of PSP was beneficial to keep the aviation system functioning.
    Can you expand on those remarks and explain where the 
airlines and aviation workforce would be without that Federal 
support and talk about how the industry is prepared to capture 
the rebound as Americans get vaccinated?
    Mr. Calio. That's a great question. You know, PSP at the 
time it started when we first--when you all first passed it 
created a lifeline for the industry. It allowed us to go to 
private markets to take on debt. It allowed us to keep our 
employees online. It allowed us to work with our employees to 
do things to sustain our companies and keep them going forward.
    When we started this, Ms. Nelson and I would often say to 
people--they would say why you, why the airline industry? Our 
employees are different because of the constant retraining and 
recertification they have to undergo, like she pointed out in 
her earlier oral testimony.
    One thing that most people don't understand, and she also 
referenced this, we had a 2-month lag, if you recall, Congress 
didn't meet the deadline and the Administration didn't meet the 
deadline last October. Tens of thousands of employees, real 
live people, were laid off and made to go through a lot of 
anguish, but with what you did in December, they were hired 
back at the end of December with pay to the beginning of 
December, but a lot of those people are still not online and 
able to fly because of that certification and training 
requirement.
    That said, with that uptick in travel that we see, they 
will be back online when that happens. So we have the capacity 
to handle those people coming back. That is fundamental to what 
it does not only for those employees and our companies but for 
our economy and for our airports.
    Ms. Nelson. This was significant. So I referenced 
comparison to 9/11 in my opening remarks. This dwarfs 9/11 and 
continues to. We are still in the middle of the crisis. I do 
think it's important that we recognize that and stay the course 
here.
    With the mask policies, with all of our diligence, with the 
efforts to get the vaccine out to everyone, but this came hard 
and fast and to have demand drop by 97 percent essentially 
overnight. What we were seeing was across the spectrum.
    There were airlines that were not going to make payroll 
within a couple weeks, let alone within a couple months. We 
would have seen bankruptcies. We would have seen additional 
mergers. We would have seen an entire collapse of the industry.
    So keeping the industry moving was very important, but this 
was really about the people, too. So as people who continued to 
have jobs, continued to get a paycheck, and the government did 
not have to be the H.R. solution for the loss of those jobs 
because we keep them in the payroll system of these airlines, 
we continued to pay our taxes which supported state and local 
budgets that continue mass transit and sanitation and education 
and emergency response that we count on in our communities.
    But it also continued contributions to our pensions or 
retirement plans and to social security and Medicare and the 
other systems that we hope will be here long after this 
pandemic is gone.
    So for all of those reasons, we continue to support the 
airline industry remain in place and ready for the recovery, as 
Nick was just describing, and we also can continue to spend 
into the economy.
    So it was a program that was helpful not only for the 
airline industry but to position us to be able to actually 
spend and recover this economy now as we are clamping down on 
the pandemic.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you.
    I'd like to recognize Senator Cruz, if he has questions to 
ask.
    Senator Cruz. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to each of 
the witnesses for your testimony.
    Dr. Marcus, let me start with you. Last week, the CDC 
released a study in which the most mentioned conclusion was 
that it is not safe to open up middle seats on airplanes.
    Are you generally aware of the study's methodology and its 
conclusions?
    Dr. Marcus. Yes, I am. Thank you for the question, Senator 
Cruz. I am aware.
    Senator Cruz. I'm troubled by the CDC's decision to release 
the study's conclusions in the manner that they did. Not only 
was the data from 2017, but it didn't properly simulate an 
airplane environment.
    For example, as opposed to the TRANSCOM study, this study 
used spray bottles that were 20,000 times more powerful than a 
human cough. The study also didn't consider the hospital grade 
ventilation on airplanes, revamped boarding procedures, wearing 
masks, or the disinfecting of the cabin.
    Most importantly, the data was collected in a scenario 
intended to study the importability of a virus. If a person was 
flying to the U.S. from another country, would they introduce 
the virus to the U.S., which is a different question than how 
transmissible COVID-19 is on an airplane with and without empty 
middle seats?
    In your professional opinion, based on the research you've 
done on COVID transmission on airplanes, do you believe leaving 
the middle seat open on flights measurably reduces COVID 
transmission on an airplane and do you believe the study that 
the CDC pushed out last week can responsibly be used as a basis 
for guidance to airlines and the flying public on the risk of 
COVID transmission on a plane?
    Dr. Marcus. Thank you, Senator Cruz, for the question, and 
let me say my extraordinary thanks for the extraordinary work 
that's been done by the CDC through this public health crisis 
and the complexity of leading through this crisis.
    Yes, I have looked at that study and our team has analyzed 
that study. What I would say of that specific study is that it 
was an experiment. It didn't look at all of the variables that 
need to be considered and, as such, I would review it in simply 
that manner.
    I don't believe that that particular experiment can inform 
public policy. I don't think it can inform airline procedures 
and protocols and so therefore it can be seen as an experiment 
without policy implications.
    What we found in our research is that the combination of 
non-pharmaceutical intervention, it's the many things together 
at the same time, do greatly reduce the risk of air travel and, 
in particular, provides a safe opportunity for people given the 
ventilation, given the wearing of masks, given the disinfection 
on the planes, given the individual and personal hygiene 
attention, that does allow for that middle seat to be occupied 
according to the analyses of the ventilation system and the 
analyses of the overall aircraft that was done by our 
researchers at Harvard University.
    Senator Cruz. Thank you, Dr. Marcus. That is helpful.
    I want to turn to Mr. Calio and Ms. Nelson. Thank you both 
for your testimony. I've spoken to both of you over the course 
of the past year about the challenges and the extraordinary 
challenges to aviation, and I know that all of us share a 
desire to safely return to normal and robust travel.
    In your judgment, what more can and should the government 
do to support the industry's full recovery? Mr. Calio, I think 
you're on mute.
    Mr. Calio. OK. Well, there's a couple things, Senator. 
First of all, thank you for all your help again. We've had many 
opportunities to talk.
    What the Federal Government can do, we do think it should 
maintain the mask mandate. It has helped considerably on 
airplanes and in airports.
    The other thing that you can do is work with us and the 
Administration to create this roadmap to recovery on an 
international basis. A lot of international travel is business 
travel. So they intersect. If we can't get those back up, 
profitability is going to be a long way off.
    Other countries are getting ahead of us and are creating 
roadmaps for what it will take if I want to travel to the U.K., 
to Iceland, Croatia, take your pick in these countries, and so 
I can fly there.
    In the end, if we don't start doing this and take a 
leadership role like we have on vaccinations, we're going to 
fall behind and it becomes a competitive disadvantage for the 
U.S. economy. So that would be a key one to look at.
    Ms. Nelson. The leadership is key, as Mr. Calio said, and 
the leadership also in messaging. So a plan, an international 
plan with other countries, the vaccination plan, and continuing 
these mask mandates and making that very clear to the public.
    Our union has a program right now where we are distributing 
stickers as flight attendants are vaccinated that says I'm 
Vaccinated, and then we say Get Vaxxed, Wear a Mask, and Come 
Fly With Us.
    So we would love it if we could have this messaging coming 
from all of our leadership, as well, and in the planning, as 
Mr. Calio was describing, and we are ready to take part in that 
planning, as well.
    Senator Cruz. OK. Final question that I wanted to raise 
again both with Mr. Calio and Ms. Nelson.
    There's been a lot of discussion about vaccine passports 
and, Ms. Nelson, you previously said that vaccine passports 
would be a mistake for a variety of reasons, including equity 
concerns.
    I share those concerns along with many privacy and 
practicality concerns. I also think such a requirement would 
depress air travel and potentially backfire similar to a 
domestic testing requirement.
    Mr. Calio, Ms. Nelson, can each of you comment on the 
potential development of a vaccine passport and what impact you 
think it would have on the aviation industry?
    Ms. Nelson. A vaccine passport, if not mandatory, could be 
a tool that could be helpful to regain confidence in air 
travel, but it must be temporary, it must be focused on COVID-
19, it must be voluntary, and we just need to make sure that 
this is not a mandatory program that keeps certain people from 
being able to access air travel.
    Senator Cruz. Mr. Calio?
    Mr. Calio. We appreciate the question. We support a digital 
health certificate, so it's uniform, I can flash up on my 
iPhone and show some place, some country that has a requirement 
that I have been either vaccinated or tested on my own accord, 
and that like Sara said, this needs to be a voluntary program. 
It needs to be time-limited, but for someone who travels a lot, 
like I do, it could be a great convenience and ease my way of 
travel and provide countries that are requiring these things an 
easier way to make sure that the information is verifiable. It 
also keeps my health information in my own hands.
    Senator Cruz. Thank you very much.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Senator Cruz.
    Senator Wicker.
    Senator Wicker. Thank you very much, and I appreciate the 
testimony.
    Let me ask this to Dr. Marcus. I want to ask about 
temperature checks. Many businesses have instituted temperature 
checks for their patrons as a way to screen for COVID-19. In 
the beginning, there was advocacy to require TSA to do this as 
a form of pre-flight screening. We certainly want whatever is 
required to be science-based.
    What do you think about requiring passengers to undergo 
temperature checks at airports? Is this a good idea, Dr. 
Marcus, and is it a science-based approach?
    Dr. Marcus. Well, Senator Wicker, thank you for the 
question.
    Based on the science, people can be sick with COVID-19. 
They can transmit the disease and be asymptomatic or, in other 
words, they're transmitting, yet they're afebrile. They don't 
have a fever.
    So early on in COVID, one of the discoveries was that the 
temperature checks were not the reliable filter for determining 
who has and who doesn't have COVID-19.
    There's some scientists who saw this as somewhat of a 
theatrical. It gives the impression that there has been some 
sort of a test but it didn't really weed out and distinguish 
those people who have the disease from those people who don't.
    So based on the science, the scientific community 
discouraged the temperature checks early on in the disease and 
there hasn't been any evidence to show that that kind of a 
conclusion should be changed.
    Senator Wicker. And so you would recommend against 
implementing such a temperature check at airports?
    Dr. Marcus. I would recommend against such a temperature 
check. I do believe that, as Mr. Calio just said, there should 
be a way to determine whether or not someone is vaccinated. 
There should be a way to determine that someone is negative.
    The technology is emerging that will allow for inexpensive 
highly reliable and quick testing. We can beat this virus and 
there's the technology and the science out there that would 
allow us to do it.
    Senator Wicker. OK. Now in answer to questions a few 
moments ago, both Mr. Calio and Ms. Nelson indicated that 
wearing of masks should be continued. I think really the 
requirement is set to expire May 11, but there's every reason 
to believe that it will be extended, and it seems to me that 
Mr. Calio and Ms. Nelson were giving this opinion as a way to 
provide more confidence to passengers so that they'd feel more 
comfortable flying.
    Some day the mask requirement needs to end, and can you 
give us any guidance on what metrics might be used to make that 
decision or are we just going to know it when we see it and 
just feel our way along until somebody finally says this is 
totally pointless to do this any further?
    Dr. Marcus. Senator Wicker, that's a really important 
question. It really speaks to the evolving science in this 
crisis. We're learning as we're going and there is a whole 
community of scientists who are gathering data and trying to 
understand the nature of the disease.
    You know also that this question of variants has perplexed 
the public health community. It's being watched very, very 
carefully and it's one of those variables that doesn't allow us 
right now to say exactly when we're going to get to the no mask 
point.
    One of the more interesting assessments that's now being 
done is whether someone who's vaccinated could acquire or 
transmit the disease. We don't have enough experience to say 
definitively whether that's true or not.
    So right now, our recommendation from the science community 
is to continue wearing a mask. There's just beginning to be a 
recognition that if you're vaccinated and with someone who's 
vaccinated and you're outside, the chances of transmission are 
very, very low. So we can begin taking off the mask then, but 
for sure when we're on the plane, when we're going through the 
airport buildings, when we're indoors, let's keep those masks 
on.
    We want to make this crisis end as soon as possible. We 
want to ensure that we don't give more variants the opportunity 
to grow and we want to make sure that more people don't get 
sick and die. We, as leaders, can actually have an impact on 
the duration of this crisis. So let's make decisions that 
shorten the duration and then just like New Zealand and 
Australia that have flights now between them because they were 
very, very careful, we will begin to see that soon in our 
future, as well.
    Senator Wicker. Are they wearing masks between New Zealand 
and Australia?
    Dr. Marcus. I don't know. I believe they are requiring 
masks in buildings.
    Senator Wicker. They are?
    Dr. Marcus. Yes. They're requiring masks. That's what I 
understand to be true. That's just wise, and I think we 
probably both agree we'd like to take our masks off, but let's 
wait to do it until this crisis is in the rearview mirror.
    Senator Wicker. Well, we're going to wait to do it until 
the government changes the requirement, and it does seem, 
though, sometime in the future that this thing needs to end.
    Thank you very much. Madam Chair, it's a very good hearing. 
Thank you.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you so much, Senator Wicker.
    I recognize Senator Warnock.

              STATEMENT OF HON. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM GEORGIA

    Senator Warnock. Thank you so much, and it's very 
refreshing and hopeful to hear from these public health 
experts.
    In January, Georgia's Delta Air Lines, our hometown airline 
we're very proud of, hired its first Chief Health Officer, Dr. 
Henry King. I know that this is not new. Airlines have 
incorporated health and medical factors into their operations 
for a long time, but it's encouraging to see airlines elevate 
these public health experts and dedicate more resources and 
attention to it.
    Mr. Calio, is Delta Air Lines a good example of how 
airlines are and should be thinking about public health 
guidance and leadership?
    Mr. Calio. I'm going to say yes, they are, and I would 
point out that, Senator, all of our members, all of A4A's 
members have affiliations with various universities and clinics 
and their medical and scientific officers.
    You know, we've always been Number 1 in safety and 
operational safety. We want to be Number 1 in hygiene and 
public health now at the same time. So what you're seeing is a 
transformation. If they weren't there before, they are there to 
stay now.
    Senator Warnock. And thank you. And how have other airlines 
incorporated public health experts in their leadership and 
partnered with medical experts?
    Mr. Calio. Well, I'm confident I'm going to get the 
affiliations wrong, but again every single one was either with 
the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, some other clinic, the 
University of Washington, Vanderbilt University. I would say 
they were way ahead of the pandemic. This didn't start--they 
didn't wait till April to get going on the affiliations.
    They started immediately applying for medical and 
scientific assistance in evaluating what they were doing and 
what more they could do. Dr. Marcus earlier pointed out that 
when the Aviation Public Health Initiative recommended to us 
two procedures that we had not undertaken on a full-time basis 
yet, our members complied and that was the ventilation on 
deplaning and boarding and also in terms of social distancing, 
not just the ventilation but then the procedure.
    If you've been on a plane recently, you know at least we 
ask you to wait till your row is called to get off the 
airplane. Unfortunately, a lot of times I think muscle memory 
takes over for people and they start banging into you like the 
guy who almost took my head off the other day with a suitcase, 
but, so, it's a very close affiliation and we, you know, would 
be happy to arrange a briefing for you on how this is all 
working, but the interaction between the scientific and medical 
community and the airlines is considerable.
    Senator Warnock. So airlines are not new to dealing with 
communicable diseases, right, and you have employed medical 
experts and we ought to have been listening to the experts.
    Mr. Calio. I would agree, yes.
    Senator Warnock. So, Ms. Nelson, flight attendants are 
often the frontline workers, essential workers responsible for 
implementing the guidance from these public health experts.
    How does the Flight Attendants Union and its members work 
with airlines to ensure the health and safety of the flying 
public?
    Ms. Nelson. Well, thank you, Senator Warnock, for that 
question, and welcome to the Committee. We are thrilled that 
you are here.
    We have been working for a very long time. There is 
something unique about the airline industry and that is that we 
are 80 percent unionized. So our unions have safety committees 
that are integrated and working with our airlines and working 
with the Federal Government, being a stakeholder at the table, 
and in working on issues related to international aviation 
regulations.
    So we have worked very closely with our airlines. In fact, 
Mr. Calio would know that we were having nonstop conversations 
directly actually even at the board room level because things 
were happening so quickly around the mask mandates.
    Our union called for that, for DOT and HHS to implement a 
mask policy last April. That did not happen, but the airlines 
responded within a week and had that mask policy in place and 
then stepped up the enforcement, and now it is much better, of 
course, with the Federal enforcement and that backing from the 
Federal Government because flight attendants are on the 
frontlines having to enforce these policies and oftentimes 
facing conflict because people have been told that it is a 
political choice rather than a public health necessity.
    But our airlines have worked with us very closely on these 
issues and while we don't always agree and we still have some 
issues, like the food and beverage service that we would like 
to not have come back right now, we have an open dialogue and 
work very closely and we get a lot more done because of it.
    Senator Warnock. We all want our almonds and our Coke back, 
but it's encouraging to hear how the airline attendants union 
and the airline industry is working along with public health 
experts.
    Atlanta, of course, is home to the CDC. We're proud of 
that, which has a whole army of medical experts to help the 
airlines to keep all the passengers safe and so thank you all 
so much for the work you do and we're going to be doing 
everything we can. I'm certainly going to be doing everything I 
can as a member of this committee to support airline business 
and at the same time keep passengers safe. Those two things can 
be done at the same time.
    Ms. Nelson. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Markey.

               STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD MARKEY, 
                U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS

    Senator Markey. Thank you so much, and thanks to our 
witnesses.
    The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented 
challenges for air travelers whose plans have been disrupted by 
health concerns, government travel bans, closed borders, and 
that's why I led several of my colleagues, including Senators 
Blumenthal and Klobuchar, in calling on the major airlines to 
issue cash refunds for all flight cancellations related to the 
deadly pandemic. Consumers need cash back during these 
challenging times.
    However, from my perspective an unconscionable decision, 
the airlines largely refused to offer cash refunds. Instead, 
they added insult to injury by offering temporary travel 
credits with expiration dates and even though the pandemic is 
not over, some travelers are discovering their flight credits 
have already expired or may expire before they feel safe to fly 
again.
    These consumers are now at risk of losing the money they 
were forced to effectively loan to the airline industry and the 
amount is staggering, by the way. According to the Wall Street 
Journal, the four biggest U.S. airlines alone had $10 billion 
in unused travel credits on their books at the end of 2020.
    So, Mr. Calio, your organization represents the largest 
domestic carriers and they now have a choice about whether we 
fix this the easy way or the hard way. So my question is this. 
Will you urge your airlines to voluntarily extend all of these 
pandemic flight credits indefinitely or will I be forced to 
call on the Department of Transportation to require airlines to 
do the right thing and make these credits valid indefinitely?
    Mr. Calio. Well, Senator, let's talk some facts first. We 
discussed this last year at the hearing in May.
    We have provided a lot of cash refunds. Everything we have 
done, everything our members have done has been according to 
the existing Federal laws and regulations. On the vouchers, we 
did expand vouchers. We eliminated change fees, I believe that 
change is permanent, and we have extended the vouchers 
repeatedly.
    All our members vary, you know, between how they do it, but 
they're all working day-to-day with their customers to try to 
make things whole for the people whose flights got canceled.
    Senator Markey. So is your answer going to be that the 
airlines should extend these credits and make them valid 
indefinitely? Is that your position?
    Mr. Calio. That's not a position I'm advocating. I think 
they need to----
    Senator Markey. Well, again, from a consumer perspective, 
Mr. Calio, that's what they want to know. If their credit has 
already expired, then you've got their money and they haven't 
been able to take a flight----
    Mr. Calio. I don't think----
    Senator Markey.--and it's going to expire in the next month 
or so. You can't go and----
    Mr. Calio. Senator, I don't think that's accurate. Anybody 
who's asked for a credit--excuse me--an extension has generally 
received it. We are working on a daily basis. We have since 
last year. We care a lot about our customers, and again I think 
the facts matter here, and the airlines have been admirable in 
the way they've handled this crisis.
    Now you may not agree with that, but I think the facts bear 
it out.
    Senator Markey. All right. Well, again, we're going to have 
a go-around on this because I think it should be something that 
people don't apply for, they just know that they've got them 
and that it has been extended to a point where those passengers 
feel that they're safe.
    So let me ask you, Sara, a question. Due to the prior 
Administration's failed leadership, airlines and airports have 
largely had to develop their own rules for ensuring 
coronavirus-related health and safety during the ongoing 
emergency.
    Unfortunately, a patchwork of rules simply cannot address 
the interconnected and widespread risk of global pandemic. To 
fill this void, I introduced the Ensuring Health Safety in the 
Skies Act with Senators Wicker and Blumenthal and our 
bipartisan legislation instructs the DOT to convene a joint 
task force of aviation security and public health experts that 
will develop national standards for safe air travel, and I'm 
proud that our bill earned unanimous passage by the Senate last 
year and we now are going to reintroduce it for this current 
Congress.
    I believe that a structured task force for rebuilding air 
travel is just something that we need.
    So, Ms. Nelson, do you agree that we still need an air 
travel task force, and can you speak to the value it would 
provide to rebuilding the aviation system?
    Ms. Nelson. Senator Markey, absolutely. We need to have all 
of the stakeholders at the table to review what has happened to 
date and to take lessons learned and have a plan for our full 
way out of this pandemic.
    We support that 100 percent, and I believe it is so common 
sense that you had wild bipartisan support for this and we 
should just get it done.
    Senator Markey. OK. And if I may, could you just talk a 
little bit about how promoting global vaccinations help the 
U.S. aviation industry?
    Ms. Nelson. Yes, absolutely. So we have got to promote the 
distribution of vaccines and the production of vaccines in 
every way that we can, and there has got to be a waiver of 
trips at WTO to make sure that there is no constraints on 
production of those vaccines, distribution of those vaccines, 
of treatments, testing, and of items, such as N95 masks that 
will help to keep people protected in the meantime.
    So it is critically important that the U.S. take a 
leadership role on this to make sure that we are using all of 
the possible production around the world to end the pandemic as 
quickly as possible and aviation is simply not coming back if 
we don't stamp out the pandemic everywhere.
    Senator Markey. I agree with you a hundred percent. Thank 
you.
    Thanks to the Chair. Thank you for the recognition. Thank 
you.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you for joining.
    Senator Cantwell, the Chair of the Committee, has joined us 
and she's now recognized for questions.

               STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON

    The Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Sinema, for holding 
this important hearing and for everybody participating. It's 
good to see everyone. It's great to see Sara Nelson. Last time 
I think you and I talked, you actually were sick with COVID. So 
I'm certainly glad to see you're doing much better today.
    I want to make sure that the United States learns from the 
pandemic, that we follow best practices, that we learn from 
what other nations have already done who've had to deal with 
the H1N1 and SARS epidemics so by the time they got to COVID-
19, they were a little more prepared, and one of the reasons 
they were able to keep at bay some of their rates was because 
they already had temperature check detection at their airports.
    This is a non-invasive technology that basically helps 
reveal whether people are sick, whatever they're sick with, but 
they obviously could be in a communicable position of passing 
something on.
    So approximately 152 countries and their airports have this 
best practice technology. We don't yet have this in the United 
States. That's why I introduced temperature checks legislation 
with Senator Scott.
    So I wanted to ask Dr. Marcus. I think you had questions 
earlier from some of my colleagues. This is about detecting 
temperature checks in other countries who've implemented that 
process and done so and helped establish best practices.
    Do you think this is a best practice that can be helpful in 
detecting people who may be ill and shouldn't be traveling?
    Dr. Marcus. As I said earlier, there's a possibility of 
having a false positive because someone could not have COVID-19 
and yet they have another infection that would have an elevated 
temperature.
    Similarly, what's been found by the science is that there 
are people who are asymptomatic, which means that they have 
COVID-19, they're able to transmit COVID-19, and they don't 
have a temperature.
    So based on what we know in the scientific community, we 
don't get a lot of good information. It's not a good metric to 
use the temperature checks. I do believe that if we have some 
way of ensuring that someone is either vaccinated or can show a 
negative COVID test using a cheap, reliable, quick testing 
process and the technology for that is evolving, that's our 
best filter for ensuring that we don't find people in the 
aviation system, at work, at schools, who are transmitting the 
disease.
    We have to find ways to stop this disease and the best way 
to do it is by ensuring that people who still hold the disease 
and who are still creating variants in their bodies with the 
disease are no longer circulating in the population.
    The Chair. Well, I certainly support aggressive actions on 
that but we're also looking for aggressive actions on 
deterrence for the next pandemic and to make sure that our air 
transportation system is implementing all of the safeguards 
against diseases.
    Mr. Calio, what do you think about this idea of building 
better infrastructure at our airports to help create at least a 
layer of protection for the public?
    Mr. Calio. Senator Cantwell, we supported your bill last 
year. We continue to support it. It's for a pilot program with 
TSA. We think it would be a good idea, you know, certainly for 
future pandemics and a lot of other people do use it.
    Dr. Marcus and I have had some previous discussions about 
this where, you know, in polling our potential passengers 
again, it inspires a high degree of confidence and part of 
that, I think, has to do with the commonplace of walking into I 
got my hair cut, believe it or not, the other day and I had to 
have my temperature checked and so we support it.
    The Chair. Well, one member of my staff reminded me that we 
went to China a while ago now, I mean, at least 12-13 years 
ago, and they had this temperature check technology and we were 
tested.
    So I guess if you've been through some of these big 
pandemics in your country, you are trying every level to 
identify when an outbreak might be happening or what the safety 
protocols should be.
    So again I think since 152 countries are doing this as a 
best practice, it is something that we should be considering.
    What else, Mr. Calio, do you think is going on in other 
countries that is innovative for helping to look at best 
practices and safety for restoring confidence in aviation 
travel?
    Mr. Calio. Thank you for the question.
    In terms of restoring confidence, one of the main things we 
could do is for the U.S. Government to show leadership in 
creating a roadmap to recovery and providing some transparency 
into how decisions are made about either restricting travel or 
reopening travel. We need a roadmap for that because until we 
get that, it's going to be very difficult.
    I mentioned earlier that other countries are getting ahead 
of us in terms of creating systems by which a traveler on a 
voluntary basis can have what amounts to a digital health 
certificate and that allows them to get past the quarantine or 
the travel restrictions to that particular country.
    We need to be doing that ourselves. We're doing such a good 
job on vaccinations. We should be leading in creating these 
voluntary methods to ease the travel for people who need to 
travel a lot or who want to travel a lot and that would be 
critical. We'd love to have the Committee's help on that.
    The Chair. Yes, I think that, I mean, we're obviously in 
these discussions now on continued research, but I definitely 
think that there are lots of examples. So people aren't as much 
trying to restrict anybody--well, you know, we know that there 
are African nations that continue to ask for identification on 
certain vaccines and shots.
    So I think the issue is we should consider some of these 
issues as best practices and figure out what we can do. We 
definitely have a higher flying public today than we've had. I 
don't know if anybody on this wants to make a projection. Maybe 
Ms. Reynolds, I see Charlene Reynolds, if you would make a 
projection about where you are right now at Sky Harbor.
    I know with the various days I've been at Sea-Tac it feels 
like we're almost back to 70 or 80 percent. Now that's not 
consistent every day, but I feel like the traveling public is 
returning.
    Ms. Reynolds. Thank you for the question.
    Here at Sky Harbor, we are currently seeing some revival of 
traffic and so we were very, very excited to see numbers 
increase to about 70 percent as compared to last year. However, 
we remain consistently around 50 percent of travel and we 
looked at some of the projections from the rating agencies. 
They believe we will return to normalcy in 2024.
    However, we are very hopeful that passengers will return 
sooner than 2024 and we look forward to basically seeing 80 
percent of our travel which for us is normal. It would allow 
for us to start investing in capital projects and then also our 
concessionaires would achieve profitability at the 80 percent 
of employments as compared to 2019.
    The Chair. Well, I would assume that the Arizona economy is 
a very big economy on tourism and travel and since 2024 is a 
long way from here, that you would want to see whatever 
investments we could make that would increase predictability 
about the safety of air travel, is that right?
    Ms. Reynolds. That is correct. What we would be looking for 
is investments in infrastructure safety that will ensure that 
passengers return sooner rather than later, investments in 
vertical circulation systems, enhanced cleaning protocols, and 
in the future modernization of terminals which would allow us 
to expand social distancing would all help airports throughout 
the country return to normalcy sooner rather than later.
    The Chair. Well, thank you, and thank you, Senator Sinema, 
for holding this hearing. I think it's so important. We're 
about to discuss with our colleagues infrastructure investment 
on many fronts and I certainly think we need to continue 
investing in our air transportation system now; I'm talking 
about the long-term infrastructure issues of moving the public 
around airports.
    I hope that this will be on the list of things that we'll 
consider making an investment in because I do think it really 
would help. Again, 2024 is a long way from here. Being able to 
detect and have better deterrents on people who may be ill and 
flying to me sounds like a very sound investment.
    Thank you.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Chair.
    Senator Rosen, you're recognized.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JACKY ROSEN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA

    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chair Sinema. Appreciate you and 
Ranking Member Cruz holding this hearing today, for all the 
witnesses, of course, for joining us.
    I'd like to continue talking a little bit about airport 
infrastructure because, as we do debate infrastructure 
legislation, we have the opportunity to make investments that 
revive and enhance our travel and tourism economy, bringing it 
to where it was pre-pandemic and beyond.
    In Nevada, for us, our airports are the gateway to 
everything we have to offer. Before the pandemic, they were 
nearly at capacity, and across the country, as everyone has 
been stating, we are moving back up there but we have a ways to 
go.
    I am the Chairwoman of the newly formed Subcommittee on 
this Committee for Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion, and we 
need to get our infrastructure back up and going so we can get 
tourism and trade moving.
    So, Ms. Reynolds, Congress, of course, has already provided 
our Nation's airports with tens of billions of dollars of 
relief as part of the bipartisan legislation I'm so glad to 
support.
    Following up on Chair Sinema's question earlier, what other 
investments do you think Congress can do to make sure our 
airports don't fall behind and also in this point of time, help 
our airports and airlines recover from the economic impacts of 
the pandemic? What do you need from us, Ms. Reynolds?
    Ms. Reynolds. Thank you for the question, Senator.
    What airports, such as Sky Harbor, would like to see again 
is investment in infrastructure and then for long-term 
investment, we would like to see an increase in the passenger 
facility charge.
    Currently, in airport financing, they typically finance 
their own modernization of terminals. We need a long-term 
financing structure that does not require the airports to take 
on extensive debt and so raising the cap on the PFC would 
provide us a long-term funding stream. That would allow for us 
to modernize our buildings here at Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 
4, basically takes on 80 percent of all our traffic.
    It was built in the late 1990s. We do need to modernize 
that terminal to provide for efficiencies in our systems and 
also for passenger convenience.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you.
    I'd like to move on a little bit to international travel 
and promotion because, of course, we want to open those borders 
back up. At Brand USA, the United States congressionally-
chartered destination marketing organization does vital work 
across the United States to bring international visitors and 
all of our potential air travelers.
    So for the past 7 years, Brand USA has generated nearly $25 
billion in direct visitor spending and more than 50,000 jobs 
each year.
    So to Ms. Reynolds again and to Mr. Calio, I'd like to hear 
from you what you think about the impact that Brand USA has had 
on air travel and what do you think we can do to boost up Brand 
USA or make it more robust so that we can continue to reap its 
benefits? So, Mr. Calio, please go ahead, then Ms. Reynolds.
    Mr. Calio. Senator, thank you.
    First of all, I'd like to note for you that with my five 
best friends from high school, every year for over the last 30 
years, we've gone to Las Vegas to meet up.
    Senator Rosen. We appreciate that.
    Mr. Calio. We will be back on May 6 and 7 and 8, so, and 
looking forward to it.
    For international travel, I think the main thing for us, 
Brand USA can do whatever it is doing and keep doing, but if we 
don't open up international markets in rationale, methodical, 
transparent ways, it's going to be meaningless, and so I would 
say the early focus here has to be on what we talked about 
earlier, which is finding a roadmap to recovery that allows 
people to know that if X, Y, and Z happens, the 212F 
restrictions will be lifted or if I want to get a digital 
health certificate that the United States will allow me to go 
to one country or another and give me a red, green, or yellow 
light.
    So from our perspective, those are the most important 
things that could happen right now.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you. I look forward to welcoming you 
to my hometown.
    Mr. Calio. Thank you.
    Senator Rosen. Ms. Reynolds, how are you feeling about 
Brand USA? Any suggestions on us improving it or what you think 
we need to do to give it any further support that you think we 
need?
    Ms. Reynolds. Phoenix Sky Harbor is supportive of any 
initiatives and/or linear approaches that will allow 
international travel to come back to not only Sky Harbor but 
other airports in the USA's network. From an economic 
development standpoint, one trip to Phoenix from London has an 
annual economic impact of $850 million per year and so we are 
very supportive of any international travel and we would 
welcome the support of Brand USA in making that happen.
    Thank you.
    Senator Rosen. Wonderful. Thank you so much for being here 
today and I yield back.
    Senator Sinema. Thank you, Senator Rosen.
    And with that, we've reached the end of today's hearing. I 
want to say thank you again to all the witnesses for their time 
and their testimony.
    The hearing's record will remain open for two weeks, until 
May 5, 2021, and any Senators that would like to submit 
questions for the record for the hearing witnesses should do so 
by May 5, and we ask that your responses be returned to the 
Committee by May 12, 2021.
    Thanks again, and we're adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 4:12 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                                  [all]