Alternate Essential Air Service

Congress established a Pilot Program to provide communities with an alternative to the traditional Essential Air Service (EAS) type service. Typically, the EAS program pays subsidy to regional air carriers to provide two or three round trips a day to a major hub airport. The Pilot Program is designed to allow communities to forego their EAS for a prescribed amount of time in exchange for receiving a grant to spend in a variety of ways that might better suit their individual needs. This notice provides information to communities interested in pursuing this alternative to the EAS program.