Government Announces Funding for Air Service to Rural Areas to End as Early as This Weekend
The Trump administration has stated that funds from a US government program that supports commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as early as this weekend because of the ongoing government shutdown.
Federal transportation authorities indicated that financial assistance under the Essential Air Service initiative are expected to expire as soon as Sunday after the agency transferred unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an temporary measure.
The department is currently notifying carriers about the funding shortfall and alerting communities about potential effects.
Federal authorities allocates approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
Earlier this year, the White House proposed cutting financial support by $308m for the Essential Air Service, which has support among GOP legislators because it provides services to predominantly Republican rural regions.
During the first presidency of Donald Trump, the administration proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service program – but lawmakers opted to increase financial support instead.
This initiative typically subsidizes two round trips each day using 30- to 50-seat aircraft – or more frequent flights with smaller planes. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 areas in the northern state have air access and 112 locations across the other 49 states and the territory that likely wouldn't have any airline service.
“Every state across the country will feel the effects,” the transportation chief stated during a press conference, noting the service had bipartisan support. “We lack the funding for that program going forward.”
