Government Announces Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to Expire as Early as This Weekend
Federal officials has stated that funds from a US government program that subsidizes airline routes to remote airfields are scheduled to end as soon as Sunday due to the current federal funding lapse.
The US transportation department stated that financial assistance under the Essential Air Service initiative are likely to end as soon as Sunday after the department moved unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an temporary measure.
Transportation officials is currently notifying carriers about the funding shortfall and alerting local areas about potential effects.
The government provides approximately $350 million in yearly financial support for the program.
In recent months, the White House proposed cutting financial support by $308 million for the Essential Air Service, which enjoys popularity among Republican lawmakers because it provides services to rural, largely Republican areas.
During the first presidency of Donald Trump, the administration suggested terminating the Essential Air Service initiative – but lawmakers opted to increase financial support instead.
This initiative typically subsidizes two round trips daily using 30- to 50-seat aircraft – or additional frequencies with smaller planes. Officials report that under the program, approximately 65 areas in the northern state receive service and 112 locations across the other 49 states and the territory that likely wouldn't have any airline service.
“Every state nationwide will be impacted,” the transportation secretary stated during a media briefing, noting the program had bipartisan support. “We don't have the money for that program going forward.”
