Rural airline service subsidies could expire in days: Trump administration
Smaller airports across the country could face financial hardship as subsidies helping them stay afloat are set to expire Sunday.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) said Monday the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, established in 1978 that guaranteed certified air carriers serve 177 smaller markets, would expire next week because of the ongoing government shutdown.
The program helped to subsidize two round trips a day with 30 seat to 50 seat aircraft to rural communities across the United States, including some 40 airports in Alaska and dozens of locations in Midwestern and Southern states.
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“Every state across the country will be impacted,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a press conference Monday. “We don’t have the money for that program moving forward.”
In May, President Trump proposed slashing some $308 million in funding for the program, saying the money “funnels taxpayer dollars to airlines to subsidize half-empty flights from airports that are within easy commuting distance from each other.”
However, the program is generally popular with Republicans as it serves many rural, GOP-leaning communities.
The government has roughly $350 million in annual discretionary funding for the program. The EAS is primarily funded through fees from foreign air carriers to fly through U.S. airspace, as well as excise taxes from domestic passenger ticket sales. In 2024, 177 communities received $591.7 million in EAS subsidies, according to the DOT.