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The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Approves $19 Million Dollars in Additional Relief for Airport Concessions, Car Companies

Photo: Artur Tumasjan
Photo: Artur Tumasjan

The additional funds were approved at the March 17 board meeting.

The $19 million dollars will be made available to businesses inside the airport that submit a reopening plan. 

The plan must lay out how furloughed employees will be rehired as travel at the airport continues to rebound, especially over the Spring Break and Easter holidays.

In a statement, GOAA CEO Phil Brown said, “Our objective is to try to help the concessions to stay afloat, provide the Orlando experience and meet customer demand.” 

"The business plan should detail employee hiring and how they will reopen in light of increasing traffic," Brown said.

The airport has also received $5.2 million dollars from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act which will support daily operations.

An audit approved by the board at the March meeting showed the airport suffered a $40.4 million dollar operating loss during fiscal year 2020. 

That's a marked improvement over fiscal year 2019 when the operating loss for the airport was $68.1 million dollars. 

Almost 40,000 passengers departed MCO every day during the first week of Spring Break, while coronavirus cases in TSA workers at the airport continued to rise.

More than 190 TSA officers at MCO have gotten sick with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Danielle Prieur covers education in Central Florida.