US Says Subsidies for Rural Airline Service to End as Soon as Sunday
The Trump administration has stated that funds from a federal initiative that subsidizes commercial air service to remote airfields are set to expire as soon as Sunday due to the current federal funding lapse.
The US transportation department stated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service program are likely to end as early as this weekend after the agency transferred unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.
Transportation officials is in the process of alerting airline operators about the financial gap and alerting communities about potential effects.
Federal authorities allocates approximately $350m in annual funding for the program.
In recent months, the White House proposed cutting funding by $308 million for the Essential Air Service, which has support among GOP legislators because it provides services to rural, largely Republican areas.
During the first presidency of Donald Trump, the White House suggested terminating the Essential Air Service initiative – but lawmakers chose to boost financial support instead.
The program typically supports two round trips daily using 30- to 50-seat aircraft – or additional frequencies with smaller planes. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 communities in Alaska have air access and 112 communities across the remaining states and Puerto Rico that likely wouldn't have any commercial air connectivity.
“All states nationwide will be impacted,” the transportation chief commented during a press conference, observing the service had support from both parties. “We don't have the money for that program moving forward.”
