Government Announces Funding for Air Service to Rural Areas to End as Soon as Sunday
Federal officials has announced that funds from a US government program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the ongoing government shutdown.
The US transportation department indicated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service program are likely to end as soon as Sunday after the department transferred separate financial resources from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.
The department is currently notifying carriers about the funding shortfall and alerting local areas about possible impacts.
Federal authorities provides approximately $350 million in yearly financial support for the program.
Earlier this year, the administration proposed cutting funding by $308m for the air service program, which enjoys popularity among Republican lawmakers 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 program – but lawmakers chose to boost funding instead.
This initiative typically subsidizes two round trips daily using medium-sized planes – or more frequent flights with smaller planes. According to the department that under the program, approximately 65 communities in the northern state receive service and 112 locations across the other 49 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 press conference, observing the program had bipartisan support. “We don't have the funding for that initiative going forward.”
