Government Announces Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to End as Soon as Sunday
The Trump administration has announced that funds from a federal initiative that subsidizes commercial air service to remote airfields are set to expire as early as this weekend because of the current federal funding lapse.
The US transportation department stated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service initiative are likely to end as early as this weekend after the department transferred unrelated funding from the FAA as an advance.
Transportation officials is in the process of alerting airline operators about the financial gap and informing communities about possible impacts.
The government provides approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
Earlier this year, the administration suggested reducing financial support by $308 million for the Essential Air Service, which enjoys popularity among GOP legislators because it provides services to predominantly Republican rural regions.
During the first presidency of the former president, the White House proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service program – but lawmakers opted to increase funding instead.
The program typically subsidizes two return flights daily using medium-sized planes – or more frequent flights with smaller planes. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 areas in Alaska receive service and 112 locations across the other 49 states and Puerto Rico that otherwise might not receive any airline service.
“Every state across the country will be impacted,” the transportation chief stated during a press conference, observing the service had support from both parties. “We lack the funding for that initiative going forward.”
