Alaska is a big beneficiary of the Essential Air Service program, but Alaska’s congressional delegation isn’t the only one urging that the federal subsidy continue.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said at a hearing Thursday he was ‘floored’ to learn President Trump is proposing to eliminate funding for the program, which he said is vital for rural communities.
“This is quite a slap in the face to something that’s absolutely critical for their continued economic development,” Peters said.
Essential Air Service pays airlines to defray the cost of serving eligible rural airports. For Alaska, it pays carriers nearly $21 million to serve 61 communities.
At the high end, Alaska Airlines gets $2 million a year to fly to Cordova. Ward Air receives less than $6,000 for flights between Chatham and Juneau.
Sen. Peters said the name, “Essential” Air Service, said it all.
“In the state of Michigan, I actually have nine airports that would be impacted as a result of these cuts. I think we’re second only to the state of Alaska, in terms of the impact on it,” Peters said.
Actually, Michigan’s eligible airports receive heavier subsidies, so their total benefit from EAS was slightly higher than Alaska’s this year.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, didn’t attend the hearing but was among 20 senators who signed a letter asking for continued funding for the program.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
