This is an interesting point. If pilots leave the field, or they just disrupt the pipeline of incoming pilots, then bailouts may not matter. No amount of money changes the fact that replacing airline pilots can't easily be done on a moment's notice. Same with maintenance of the aircraft themself.

All the government can really do is keep the corporate entities that own the airlines on life support. If there is no demand the underlying productive assets will inevitably decay -- preventing that is something government is inherently bad at.