WASHINGTON -- A local hub for commuters from four area states to access BWI is on the chopping block to lose millions of dollars in federal funding.
As a part of last week's debt agreement, Republicans in Congress got the cuts they were looking for to the $200 million Essential Air Service program, which subsidizes 153 rural airports throughout the country. The Hagerstown Regional Airport is among 13 whose federal funding could be eliminated.
Critics in Congress say subsidizing these airports is a waste of money, while their supporters argue they are a financial lifeline in rural areas that ensure economic stability.
"This will be a great loss for Hagerstown and the quad-state area," said Phil Ridenour, the airport director. The hub provides "convenient" access to larger airports for not only locals, but businessmen and travelers from other parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, he said. "There is just such a great opportunity here in Hagerstown because you can drive right up to the terminal."
At a time when heightened security and struggling airlines leaves many at airports for hours, Ridenour said travellers can get to BWI in about 30 minutes.
"It's not only the convenience but also the access," he said. Travelers accessing the same "pier" as Cape Air for national flights would not have to reenter security, said Ridenour.
But some believe the subsidy program is outdated.
"The EAS was created as a temporary or intended to be a temporary program to ease the transition after airline deregulation," aviation consultant Eric Zimmerman told FoxNews.com.
Thirty years later, the program is "squandering more tax dollars than ever," he said.
"Ending EAS would be a blow to Western Maryland's economy and the local businesses that rely on this airport," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., according to a statement from her office. "Jobs would be lost. Not just the pilots and mechanics but the waitress at Nick's Airport Inn, the manager of the rental car company and employees in Western Maryland's outlets, restaurants and hotels."
The senator would "likely" support a waiver for the Hagerstown airport funding cuts, a spokesperson said, to be distributed by the federal Department of Transportation.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., would also support the waiver, a spokesperson told WTOP, adding "It is a valuable economic resource for the region."
Other airports on the chopping block caught the ire of Congress for the sharp contrast between ticket prices and federal subsidies. Passengers on planes flying out of the Ely, Nev. airport paid between $70 and $90, the Associated Press reported, while each ticket set taxpayers back $4,107.
Tickets cost an average of $59 at Hagerstown, Ridenour said, for Cape Air flights to BWI five times on Mondays and Fridays, four times on Tuesday through Thursday and three times over the weekend.
That service chalked up roughly 21,000 flights in 2010, according to Business Development Manager Greg Larsen.
Federal statistics viewed by WTOP show the Hagerstown airport received a federal subsidy of just over $1.2 million in 2010, indicating flights cost taxpayers roughly $57 each.
Learn more about the Essential Air Service program and the potential budget cuts here, and the other airports that could see their subsidies eliminated here.
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