Boeing CEO says a major airline will likely go out of business because of the coronavirus pandemic

A major U.S. airline is likely to go out of business because of the coronavirus pandemic, the CEO of Boeing has predicted.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun spoke to Today on Tuesday about the "grave" threat the coronavirus pandemic presents to U.S. airlines as traffic plummets while Americans stay at home. When asked if a major carrier in the United States will go out of business once the bailout money from the federal government runs out, he said this will probably be the case.

"I don't want to get too predictive on that subject, but yes, most likely," Calhoun said.

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Half of the rescue funds provided to the airline industry from the federal government was for payroll, and this money will run out in September, The New York Times reports.

Calhoun went on to tell Today that traffic levels won't even be back to 25 percent by September, so "there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines" at that point. He also predicted that traffic levels won't actually return to the point they were in 2019 for around "three full years." Brendan Morrow