SEATTLE — There's not much left to close to slow the spread of coronavirus, so what about temporarily shutting down domestic air travel?
On Sunday, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf wouldn't rule it out.
"We continue to look at all options and all options remain on the table," he said.
President Trump was asked about the possibility during a Monday news briefing.
"We're not really, we hope we don't have to, we think that hopefully we won't have to do that, but it's certainly something that we talk about every day. We haven't made that decision," Trump said.
"This shutdown, if it happens, would be unprecedented," said aviation industry consultant Scott Hamilton of the Leeham Company. "The only thing that we can point to previously is the shutdown after the 9-11 terror attacks, but that was only a matter of a couple of days."
Already, airlines are cutting back flights as passengers stay home.
Alaska Airlines on Monday said it is reducing capacity by 10 percent in April and 15 percent in May.
The Trump Administration is pursuing a bailout package for the airline industry.
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