Up to 50,000 airline workers  in U.S. could lose their job TONIGHT if Congress doesn't approve more aid

“Hundreds of thousands of airline workers are facing financial ruin through no fault of our own. How will we take care of our families without a paycheck and health insurance?” said one airline worker.

By Ben Popken and Tom Costello @ NBCNews.com, Updated Sept. 30, 2020, 6:36 PM UTC

With just hours to go before mass layoffs decimate the airline industry slammed by coronavirus travel cutbacks, workers are pleading with Congress to pass a last-minute deal to save as many as 50,000 people from losing their paycheck.

“I feel like I’m being left behind and there’s nothing we can do. It’s extremely out of our hands, and we’re just sitting around terrified,” said Amanda Steinbrunn, a flight attendant who has been with United Airlines for five years.

She herself contracted Covid-19, recovered — and went on to help transport nurses and doctors. Last month the airline told her that she would "absolutely" be losing her job Oct. 1 if there was no extension passed to the payroll support program, she said. “I don’t have a backup plan. I’m going to be on the unemployment line like so many other people."

In May, Congress passed HEROES Act legislation that bailed out nearly 75 percent of the airline’s payroll expenses with $25 billion in grants and $25 billion in loans, with another $10 billion for cargo airlines, with the stipulation that airlines not let any workers go until Oct. 1. At stake are close to 50,000 jobs for pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers, counter agents and other airline and airport personnel.

It was expected that, by October, the U.S. would have had enough time to get the coronavirus under control and return to more typical travel and expenditure levels. However, garbled national guidance and inconsistent adherence to safety precautions squandered the bought time for travel and other industries.

Now, airline workers are hanging on for hopes of assistance from Congress to save their livelihoods [....]