US Says Funding for Air Service to Rural Areas to End 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 because of the current federal funding lapse.
Federal transportation authorities stated that financial assistance under the Essential Air Service initiative are expected to expire as soon as Sunday after the department transferred unrelated funding from the FAA as an advance.
Transportation officials is in the process of alerting airline operators about the funding shortfall and alerting communities about possible impacts.
The government allocates approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
In recent months, 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 initial term of the former president, the White House proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service initiative – but lawmakers opted to increase funding instead.
The program typically supports two round trips each day using medium-sized planes – or more frequent flights with smaller planes. Officials report that under the program, approximately 65 areas in the northern state have air access 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 secretary stated during a media briefing, noting the service had bipartisan support. “We lack the money for that program moving forward.”
