US Says Subsidies for Air Service to Rural Areas to End as Soon as Sunday
The Trump administration has announced that funds from a US government program that subsidizes commercial air service to remote airfields are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the current federal funding lapse.
The US transportation department indicated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service initiative are expected to expire as early as this weekend after the department moved unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.
The department is in the process of alerting airline operators about the financial gap and informing communities about potential effects.
The government provides approximately $350m in yearly financial support for the program.
Earlier this year, the White House suggested reducing financial support by $308 million for the air service program, which enjoys popularity among GOP legislators because it offers connectivity to predominantly Republican rural regions.
During the first presidency of the former president, the White House proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service initiative – but Congress chose to boost funding instead.
This initiative typically subsidizes two return flights each day using 30- to 50-seat aircraft – or more frequent flights with smaller aircraft. 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 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 service had support from both parties. “We don't have the funding for that program moving forward.”