Airline workers react to signing of COVID-19 relief bill

PHOENIX - For weeks, people who work in the aviation industry have been in limbo, hoping for help from the government so they could either go back to work or stay on the job.

Now, after President Joe Biden signed the massive COVID-19 relief bill, many are breathing a sigh of relief.

"I feel like aviation is is in my blood," said Alana Billingsley.

It’s no secret Billingsley loves being up in the air. She’s been a flight attendant for American Airlines for the past 10 years, and has never seen the industry get hit this hard.   

"I wasn’t furloughed, but thousands of my coworkers were, and so, there is a guilt that you have when it doesn’t quite affect you in the same way, and that you want to help your coworkers and you see them going through losing their health insurance and having to find jobs during the pandemic," said Billingsley.

Billingsley says she took a leave of absence in April 2020.

"We all did it to try to reduce the number of furloughs, so I really felt betrayed when thousands of my coworkers were still furloughed when I made the changes that I needed to in my life to help save their jobs, and it just wasn’t enough," said Billingsley.

In February, American Airlines started to send warnings about more furloughs in the next couple of months to 13,000 of their employees. However, the COVID-19 relief bill includes a provision that extends the payroll support program through September.

"I was so excited," said Billingsley. "This is one of those things we have all worked so hard for, and we’ve been contracting our representative everyday, and to finally find out that we’re getting the support that we need, and it’s long enough to take a breath and to be able to figure out our next steps."

In February, Billingsley was displaced to Los Angeles, but she says she’s remaining cautiously optimistic for the future.  

"After everything that we’ve been through this year, it’s really hard to celebrate, but we’re all signed and taking a moment to appreciate what’s happened," said Billingsley.

Billingsley says when she returns from her leave, she'll need to figure out how she's going to commute to Los Angeles.