Small Communities Reliant on Subsidies for Air Service, GAO Finds

Congress established two key programs to help support air service to small communities —the Essential Air Service (EAS) providing about $100 million in subsidies per year and the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) that provides about $20 million per year in grants.

EAS subsidies support air service to many small communities that would likely not have service if EAS subsidies are discontinued. Since 1997, funding for EAS has increased from $25.9 million in 1997 to $109.4 million in 2007 and the number of communities has generally increased. The federal government is spending a median of about $98 per passenger, with subsidies ranging from about $13 to $677 per passenger.

That is according to a new US government report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress.

Concerns exist about the costs of the program, particularly given the federal government’s long-term structural fiscal imbalance, GAO says. In addition, according to industry representatives, the number of air carriers flying aircraft suitable for EAS communities may decrease, raising concerns about the availability of appropriate aircraft to provide small community air service in the future, it adds.


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