🔗 Share this article US Says Funding for Air Service to Rural Areas to End as Early as This Weekend The Trump administration has announced that funds from a US government program that supports commercial air service to remote airfields are scheduled to end as soon as Sunday due to the current federal funding lapse. The US transportation department indicated that subsidies under the Essential Air Service initiative are likely to end as soon as Sunday after the agency moved unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance. The department is in the process of alerting carriers about the financial gap and informing communities about potential effects. The government provides approximately $350m in yearly financial support for the program. In recent months, the administration suggested reducing funding by $308 million for the Essential Air Service, which has support among Republican lawmakers because it provides services to rural, largely Republican areas. During the first presidency of the former president, the administration proposed eliminating the Essential Air Service initiative – but lawmakers chose to boost financial support instead. This initiative typically subsidizes two return flights each day using medium-sized planes – or additional frequencies 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 airline service. “Every state across the country will be impacted,” the transportation secretary stated during a press conference, observing the service had support from both parties. “We lack the money for that initiative going forward.”