US Senate offers $58 bn aid to airlines as they struggle to stay afloat

The US Senate passed an industry aid package, half in the form of grants to cover some 750,000 employees' paychecks

The US Senate offered struggling airlines unprecedented aid worth $58 billion that will helping cover their staff wages, as carriers around the world seek state support and turn passenger planes into cargo liners in their desperate bid for revenues.

The coronavirus crisis has ravaged the travel industry and grounded many of the world's planes, prompting governments to take previously unthinkable steps to prevent bankruptcies, ranging from state handouts to temporarily halting competition rules.

"For airlines, it's apocalypse now," said Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents carriers around the world.

"Travel restrictions and evaporating demand mean