David Schaper

The thought of packing herself onto a crowded bus or train makes Magali Olson cringe.

"I'm afraid to really take the train," Olson says. "I mean, I don't know if people are being clean or not, you know?"

She is able to work from home some days, but she's had to ride Chicago's Blue Line trains two days a week to her job at an insurance company downtown.

"Although I had Clorox wipes to clean everything, before I sat or touch anything, I was still a little scared," she says. "Some people weren't wearing masks, so it's a little scary."

The number of people flying on commercial jetliners is down 75% from last summer, but the rate of those getting caught either inadvertently or deliberately trying to bring a gun on board is soaring.

Transportation Security Administration officers are finding guns in carry on bags at security checkpoints at a rate three times higher than they did last summer. And 80% of those guns are loaded.

The devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the air travel industry is becoming clearer, as United Airlines announced on Wednesday that it may need to cut its U.S.-based workforce nearly in half when federal payroll funding runs out in October.

On Wednesday, the Chicago-based airline notified 36,000 employees, about 45% of the company's domestic employees, that they may lose their jobs on or after Oct. 1, the earliest date that airlines that received government-funded payroll grants can eliminate jobs under the terms of the CARES Act.

Illinois is joining many of its neighboring Midwest states in reopening some retail shops, restaurants, salons and other businesses Friday.

But Chicagoans will have to wait until the middle of next week to get a tattoo, haircut or manicure, or eat on a restaurant patio as Mayor Lori Lightfoot is delaying the limited business reopening until Wednesday.

Amtrak is the latest transportation provider to require all passengers to wear facial coverings or masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, beginning Monday.

The intercity passenger rail agency joins most of the nation's passenger airlines and many public transit systems in requiring coverings or face masks on passengers.

Updated on Friday at 7:36 p.m. ET

Most of the nation's airlines are beginning to require passengers to wear face coverings or masks on flights to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Southwest and Alaska Airlines announced Friday they will join American, Delta, United, Frontier and JetBlue in taking the action amid growing pressure from Congress and their own employees.

Two more airlines are reporting staggering losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. American Airlines announced Thursday that because of a sharp decline in air travel, the company lost more than $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020. United Airlines reported a $1.7 billion loss for the quarter.

Boeing's chief executive is painting a dire picture of the air travel industry, telling shareholders in a virtual annual meeting on Monday that it may take several years for commercial airlines to recover from the huge drop-off caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

That means Boeing will need to borrow more money to stay afloat, and significant job and production cuts could be coming to the company's airplane manufacturing plants.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun presented the grim outlook.

Updated at 7:49 p.m. ET

Struggling U.S. airlines finally have a deal in principle with the Trump administration to get a share of $25 billion in federal coronavirus relief that they were supposed to get last week.

The payroll support payments will keep pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, gate agents and other employees on airline payrolls through September.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the department will work with the airlines to finalize the deals "and disperse the funds as quickly as possible."

Airports around the world are a lot quieter these days, with hardly anyone flying because of travel restrictions to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

And some of the nation's busiest airports are about to get even quieter, as airlines slash service this week into and out of the three major New York City area airports.

It appears most, if not all of the nation's major airlines have applied for a share of $50 billion in federal coronavirus aid.

Delta, American, United, Southwest and JetBlue, among others, met a 5 p.m. ET deadline to apply to the Treasury Department for payroll grants, loans or both.

This is a surreal time to be going to work inside of an airport.

"This is shocking, the speed in which this has completely changed our lives," says Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, the union representing 50,000 flight attendants at 20 different airlines.

"When we get to the plane, the first thing we're checking is, do we have the mask and gloves? Do we have hand sanitzer? Do we have the sani-wipes to be able to wipe things down?"

United Airlines is threatening massive employee layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts if Congress doesn't pass a coronavirus economic relief package by the end of this month.

The air travel industry is suffering enormous financial losses because of the coronavirus outbreak as governments and businesses around the world restrict travel.

Thursday, the Transportation Security Administration reported screening the fewest number of airline passengers ever. Only about 624,000 people passed through airport security checkpoints, compared to 2.4 million people on the same day last year.

Across the country and around the world, flights are being canceled, trade shows are being called off and businesses are cutting back on employee travel — all because of fears related to the spread of the new coronavirus.

The sudden and unforeseen slowdown could cost the travel industry billions of dollars.

This isn't exactly the golden age of airline travel, but it's a pretty good time to fly by a lot of measures. Flying has never been safer. Airfares are historically low when adjusted for inflation. Technology makes it easier to search for fares and book flights while also helping airlines lose fewer bags and improve their on-time performance.

But if there's one thing air travelers still love to complain about, it's the size of economy class seats.

Illinois lawmakers set aside their bitter partisan bickering Wednesday to override Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's partial veto of bill addressing the state's heroin crisis.

The police officers, firefighters and emergency medical teams who rushed to Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday are trying to cope with what they saw there, even as they work to investigate the awful crime that transpired and help their community cope with its aftermath.

The first responders are also struggling with the fact that they weren't able to save anyone, as they had been trained to do.