Government Announces Funding for Rural Airline Service to Expire as Soon as Sunday
The Trump administration has announced that funds from a US government program that supports airline routes to remote airfields are set to expire as soon as Sunday due to the current federal funding lapse.
Federal transportation authorities indicated that subsidies 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 advance.
Transportation officials is in the process of alerting carriers about the financial gap and alerting local areas about possible impacts.
The government allocates approximately $350 million in yearly financial support for the program.
In recent months, the administration suggested reducing financial support by $308 million for the air service program, which has support among Republican lawmakers because it provides services to predominantly Republican rural regions.
Throughout the first presidency of the former president, the White House suggested terminating the Essential Air Service program – but lawmakers chose to boost funding instead.
This initiative typically subsidizes two round trips each day using medium-sized planes – or more frequent flights with smaller planes. Officials report that under the program, approximately 65 communities in the northern state receive service and 112 communities across the other 49 states and the territory that otherwise might not receive any commercial air connectivity.
“Every state nationwide will feel the effects,” the transportation secretary commented during a media briefing, observing the service had support from both parties. “We lack the money for that program going forward.”