MUSKEGON COUNTY — Muskegon County Airport is not one of the unlucky 13 when it comes to a federal subsidy for commercial air service.
The local airport, which currently receives $660,000 per year through the Essential Air Service program, was not on the list of rural communities targeted for federal subsidy cuts as part of recently approved legislation for the Federal Aviation Administration's operating authority. Muskegon County officials credited the federal money with making commercial service to the local airport possible over the last couple of years.
Muskegon County Airport Manager Marty Piette said county officials appreciate the subsidy, essential for maintaining local commercial service during the economic downturn, but he said the goal is to make it unnecessary in the future. One version of the legislation, approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, would have eliminated much of the program, including the funds for Muskegon service.
“We're trying to get it profitable so we don't even need it if it is voted out,” Piette said.
Muskegon County Airport's subsidy supports SkyWest Airlines in providing commercial service. SkyWest, operating as United Airlines, flies 50-passenger jet service daily to and from Chicago O'Hare.
The Essential Air Service program currently provides subsidies for commercial air carriers serving about 110 airports in rural communities and small towns across the lower 48 states. The program was established in 1978 when the government deregulated the airlines, enabling them to drop lightly traveled routes that lose money.
Conservatives have targeted the $200 million program as wasteful spending for years.
The deadlock over the FAA bill between Republicans and Democrats was broken Friday, when an agreement was reached to end a partial two-week shutdown of the FAA. The shutdown led to the furlough of nearly 4,000 workers and delays to several airport construction projects.
The air service subsidies were a factor in the political stalemate.
Republicans achieved the subsidy cuts in the final law, but with a major caveat: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has the authority to continue subsidized service to the 13 communities if he decides it's necessary.
Communities targeted for the proposed air service subsidy cuts are Morgantown, W.Va.; Athens, Ga.; Glendive, Mont.; Alamogordo, N.M.; Ely, Nev.; Jamestown, N.Y.; Bradford, Pa.; Hagerstown, Md.; Jonesboro, Ark.; Johnstown, Pa.; Franklin/Oil City, Pa.; Lancaster, Pa.; and Jackson, Tenn.
More rural airports, including Muskegon County's, also were proposed for cuts in the initial House legislation. Even if the program was eliminated, the funding for the airline serving Muskegon County Airport would have continued until Oct. 1, 2013.
Source: http://www.mlive.com
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