Explanation:

The airline had earlier ______ payment only to those in the high-income bracket but now salaries have dried up for everyone.

In the given sentence the correct word for filling the blank would be 'deferred'.

It is a verb and it means to delay or postpone something. 

So by reading the whole sentence it is clear that deferred is the most suitable word for making the sentence meaningful.

Hence option 2 is the correct answer.