US Says Funding for Air Service to Rural Areas to End as Early as This Weekend
Federal officials has announced that funds from a federal initiative that supports commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the current federal funding lapse.
Federal transportation authorities stated that financial assistance under the Essential Air Service program are likely to end 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 alerting communities about potential effects.
Federal authorities provides approximately $350 million in yearly financial support for the program.
In recent months, the White House suggested reducing funding by $308m for the Essential Air Service, which enjoys popularity among GOP legislators because it provides services to rural, largely Republican areas.
Throughout the first presidency of Donald Trump, the White House proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service program – but lawmakers opted to increase financial support instead.
This initiative typically supports two return flights each day using 30- to 50-seat aircraft – or more frequent flights with smaller planes. Officials report that under the program, approximately 65 areas in Alaska have air access and 112 communities across the remaining states and Puerto Rico that likely wouldn't have any airline service.
“Every state nationwide will be impacted,” the transportation chief stated during a media briefing, noting the service had bipartisan support. “We don't have the money for that program moving forward.”