Essential Air Service

Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which, prior to deregulation, were served by certificated airlines, maintained commercial service. Its aim is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service to these communities that otherwise would not be profitable. This came in response to the Airline Deregulation Act, passed in 1978, which gave U.S. airlines almost total freedom to determine which markets to serve domestically and what fares to charge for that service. The program is codified at 49 U.S.C. §§ 41731–41748.

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) subsidizes airlines to serve communities across the country that otherwise would not receive scheduled air service. As of June 1, 2015, 159 communities in the US received EAS subsidies, of which 44 were in Alaska, two were in Hawaii, and one community in Puerto Rico. The decision as to what degree of subsidized service a community requires is made based on identifying a specific hub for the community and from there determining the number of trips, seats, and type of aircraft that are necessary to serve that hub.

In fiscal year 2015, the federal budget provided $263 million in funding for the EAS program. The USDOT proposed a further 7.6 percent increase for a proposed FY2016 funding of $283 million. The budgeted funding for EAS increased from $193 million in FY2012 to $233 million in FY2013 to $268 million in FY2014, before decreasing slightly in FY2015 to $263 million. Between FY2012 and FY 2015, annual EAS expenditures rose 36%. Per passenger EAS subsidy in the 48 contiguous states plus Puerto Rico ranged from $10 to more than $977 per passenger in 2014.

These increases occured despite numerous Congressional measures to contain program spending. The George W. Bush Administration sought to reduce the cost of the program to $50 million by stricter eligibility criteria and requiring the local governments of the areas served to contribute to the cost. The Heritage Foundation argued in 2014 that rural airports should receive no federal subsidies through the Essential Air Service program; rather, state and local governments that value the air services should support them. The Congressional Research Service has reported that since the early 2000s federal subsidies for the EAS have nearly tripled to almost $300 million per year.

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