Ryan Ewing
Inside Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
- The newly passed CARES Act requires airlines to maintain certain levels of pre-March 2020 air service even as passenger demand dwindles.
- Despite the raging pandemic and stay at home orders, air travel remains the quickest form of transportation and is used by medical professionals and other essential workers to get where they're needed.
- With non-essential travel limited, airports have become deserted and aircraft are flying with only handfuls of passengers if any.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Nowhere has the effect of COVID-19 been more pronounced in the US than the country's transportation system, especially its largest airports and the aircraft still flying.
Once vibrant, bustling centers for the facilitation of travel have been reduced to ghost towns operated by skeleton crews serving the few remaining flights that have yet to be cut by airlines.
Provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, require of the airlines that apply for federal aid maintain minimal air service.
The law requires that airlines "maintain scheduled air transportation service as the Secretary of Transportation deems necessary to ensure services to any point served by that carrier before March 1, 2020."
Especially in a time of crisis, airlines fly crucially needed cargo and maintain national connectivity, as stated in the newly-adopted law.
"The Secretary of Transportation shall take into consideration the air transportation needs of small and remote communities and the need to maintain well-functioning health care and pharmaceutical supply chains, including for medical devices and supplies," the CARES Act includes.
Take a closer look at the current state of airports and aircraft amid a pandemic.
Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.
Get the latest coronavirus business & economic impact analysis from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries.