Government Announces Subsidies for Air Service to Rural Areas to End as Early as This Weekend
The Trump administration has announced that funds from a federal initiative that subsidizes airline routes to rural airports are scheduled to end as soon as Sunday because of the ongoing government shutdown.
The US transportation department stated that financial assistance under the Essential Air Service program are expected to expire as early as this weekend after the department transferred unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.
Transportation officials is currently notifying carriers about the financial gap and informing communities about possible impacts.
The government allocates approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
Earlier this year, the administration proposed cutting financial support by $308m for the air service program, which has support among GOP legislators because it provides services to rural, largely Republican areas.
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 return flights each day using medium-sized planes – or more frequent flights with smaller aircraft. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 areas in the northern state have air access and 112 locations across the remaining states and the territory that likely wouldn't have any commercial air connectivity.
“Every state nationwide will be impacted,” the transportation chief stated during a press conference, noting the service had bipartisan support. “We don't have the money for that program moving forward.”
