US Says Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to End as Soon as Sunday
The Trump administration has stated that financial support from a US government program that supports commercial air service to remote airfields are set to expire 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 separate financial resources from the Federal Aviation Administration as an temporary measure.
The department is in the process of alerting airline operators about the financial gap and alerting communities about possible impacts.
The government provides approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
Earlier this year, the White House proposed cutting financial support by $308 million for the air service program, which enjoys popularity among GOP legislators because it provides services to predominantly Republican rural regions.
Throughout the first presidency of the former president, the White House 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 medium-sized planes – or additional frequencies with smaller planes. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 communities in Alaska receive service and 112 locations across the remaining states and Puerto Rico that otherwise might not receive any airline service.
“Every state nationwide will be impacted,” the transportation chief commented during a media briefing, observing the service had bipartisan support. “We don't have the funding for that program moving forward.”