A federal program that supports flights across dozens of rural communities in Alaska may be halted as soon as Sunday due to the government shutdown.
Subsidies to support the Essential Air Service program are set to soon expire, as early as Sunday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said at a news conference Monday.
There are 65 communities in Alaska that rely on this program, across roughly 15 airlines, making the state the “number-one user” of the air service.
“You don’t have roads in Alaska, they travel by air. A lot of these are small communities… Alaska will be impacted, but every state across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies to airlines to service these communities, Duffy said.
Essential Air Service is a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation that provides subsidies to ensure air service continues to remote and rural communities across the state, which otherwise might not receive service after airline deregulation in 1978.
According to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, only 18% of communities in Alaska are connected to the road system; the other 82% rely on aviation and rough overland or water travel to access mail, medicine and other services. All but one of the current EAS flights connect communities that are otherwise more than 100 miles away by gravel road from the state’s designated “hub airport” in Juneau and Fairbanks.
In a statement emailed to Carpenter Media Group, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said he is actively working to avoid funding disruptions “if at all possible,” to ensure continued aviation access for Alaskans who need it.
“I’m also pressing more of my Senate Democratic colleagues to come to their senses and quickly pass our clean, bipartisan continuing resolution to reopen the government and safeguard these and other vital programs that millions of Americans rely upon.”
Earlier this year, it became known that the Trump administration is looking to reduce funding to the program by more than 50%, calling the spending “out of control” between 2021 and 2025. President Trump’s ‘Skinny Budget’ includes reform to eligibility criteria and subsidy rates, which the government says will lower taxpayer spending by $300 million.
Duffy, while speaking at Newark Liberty International Airport, placed blame on Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader. Prior to speaking to reporters, Duffy met with air traffic controllers at the airport.
As of Monday, it appeared that there was no reported progress on a deal that would reopen the government as the shutdown enters its second week.
In a notice issued Monday, the Department of Transportation said air carriers will be relieved of their obligations under all active Essential Air Service contracts after Oct. 12., with payments suspended beginning Oct. 13 until Congress restores funding.
