Government Announces Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to End as Soon as Sunday
The Trump administration has announced that financial support from a federal initiative that supports airline routes to rural airports are set to expire as early as this weekend because of the current federal funding lapse.
Federal transportation authorities indicated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service initiative are likely to end as early as this weekend after the department moved unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an temporary measure.
The department is in the process of alerting carriers about the financial gap and alerting local areas about possible impacts.
The government allocates approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
In recent months, the White House proposed cutting financial support by $308m for the Essential Air Service, which has support among GOP legislators because it offers connectivity to rural, largely Republican areas.
During the first presidency of Donald Trump, the White House suggested terminating the Essential Air Service program – but Congress opted to increase financial support instead.
This initiative typically supports two return flights daily using 30- to 50-seat aircraft – or additional frequencies with smaller aircraft. Officials report that under the program, approximately 65 areas in Alaska receive service and 112 communities across the remaining states and the territory that likely wouldn't have any airline service.
“Every state across the country will be impacted,” the transportation chief commented during a press conference, noting the program had support from both parties. “We lack the money for that initiative moving forward.”
