US Says Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to Expire as Early as This Weekend
The Trump administration has announced that financial support from a federal initiative that subsidizes airline routes to rural airports are scheduled to end as soon as Sunday due to the current federal funding lapse.
Federal transportation authorities stated that financial assistance under the Essential Air Service initiative are likely to end as soon as Sunday after the agency transferred unrelated funding from the FAA as an temporary measure.
The department is currently notifying carriers about the financial gap and informing communities about possible impacts.
The government allocates approximately $350 million in annual funding for the program.
In recent months, the administration suggested reducing funding by $308 million for the Essential Air Service, which has support among GOP legislators because it provides services to rural, largely Republican areas.
Throughout the initial term of Donald Trump, the White House suggested terminating the Essential Air Service program – but Congress chose to boost funding instead.
The program typically subsidizes two round trips daily using medium-sized planes – or more frequent flights with smaller aircraft. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 communities in Alaska receive service and 112 communities across the remaining states and the territory that otherwise might not receive any commercial air connectivity.
“Every state across the country will be impacted,” the transportation chief commented during a media briefing, observing the service had bipartisan support. “We lack the money for that initiative going forward.”