Government Announces Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to End as Soon as Sunday
Federal officials has stated that funds from a US government program that supports airline routes to rural airports are set to expire as early as this weekend due to the current federal funding lapse.
The US transportation department indicated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service program are expected to expire as early as this weekend after the agency moved separate financial resources from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.
The department is in the process of alerting carriers about the financial gap and informing local areas about potential effects.
Federal authorities allocates approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
In recent months, the administration proposed cutting funding by $308 million for the Essential Air Service, which has support among Republican lawmakers because it provides services to predominantly Republican rural regions.
During the initial term of Donald Trump, the administration proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service initiative – but lawmakers opted to increase funding instead.
The program typically supports two return flights daily 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 the northern state have air access and 112 locations across the remaining states and the territory that likely wouldn't have any commercial air connectivity.
“All states nationwide will be impacted,” the transportation secretary stated during a press conference, observing the service had support from both parties. “We don't have the money for that initiative moving forward.”
