Concerned that guidance released on obtaining grants and loans specified in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) were crafted for commercial airlines and other large operations, NBAA and NATA jointly appealed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for additional guidance addressing general aviation operations that also qualify for the aid. Both Part 135 operators and certain FBO and maintenance organizations qualify for portions of the nearly $80 billion in grants and loans designated for the aviation industry.

“The scale and business operations of general aviation air carriers and FBOs are significantly different than those of scheduled passenger and cargo air carriers,” the associations told Mnuchin in a letter. This scale presents unique challenges in meeting the guidance since it is tailored for scheduled airlines.

“For the air carrier loan program, general aviation operators generally do not track available seat miles, revenue per seat mile, and cost per available seat miles as they conduct on-demand operations,” they told the secretary. “We welcome the opportunity to work with you on developing additional measures to more accurately measure the service provided by a general aviation air carrier.”

They pointed out several other differences, including the fact that general aviation businesses typically are not publicly traded companies and have limited liquidity. “When evaluating the taxpayer and financial protection provisions under the CARES Act, we request that you provide flexibility to these companies in meeting the goal of protecting taxpayer dollars.” In addition, most charters to not submit salary and benefit reports to the Department of Transportation, NBAA and NATA added.

The associations stressed the importance of the business and general aviation industry, saying it supports 1.2 million jobs and $247 billion in economic impact and is able to reach 5,000 airports conducting critical missions such as air ambulance flights and organ delivery.

“These companies need both near and medium to long-term relief to survive and continue providing service,” they said.