Airlines wait as Treasury applies strings to payroll aid

The Treasury Department and leading airlines continue negotiating over terms of coronavirus-relief payments, with Treasury sticking to a proposal that could give the government an ownership stake in the nation’s leading carriers. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said agreements with the airlines over terms of the $25 billion in payroll assistance could come soon. The chief holdup is Treasury’s insistence that some of the $25 billion in payroll assistance be in the form of loans, not cash. The airlines thought they had a deal: Congress agreed to give passenger airlines $25 billion in cash grants to cover payroll costs for six months.