Bismarck  (CSi)  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp joined a bipartisan group of 19 other senators in pushing for continued federal funding for Essential Air Service (EAS)—a program that guarantees airports in North Dakota communities like Devils Lake, Dickinson, and Jamestown have affordable air travel, which helps support the local economies. The president’s budget proposal would eliminate the program.

 

Funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation, EAS connects rural and remote areas to major hubs, helping small businesses and creating jobs in rural areas. Each year, EAS invests $4.2 million in Dickinson’s airport, $4 million in Devils Lake’s, and $2.8 million in Jamestown’s, helping keep rural economies vibrant and connected. Last year, EAS helped Devils Lake board a record-breaking 6,290 passengers.

According to the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, air travel to the Devils Lake and Jamestown areas alone brought $2.1 million from visitors to the area in 2015, as well as supporting 209 jobs in the state.

Heitkamp says, “Without this program guaranteeing affordable air travel, small businesses in Jamestown, Dickinson, and Devils Lake would suffer—and North Dakota jobs would be at risk.  A bipartisan group of senators that I’m proud to join is pushing back against the president’s budget, which would eliminate this critical program. We’re calling to make sure this program gets fully funded to keep supporting rural communities across North Dakota and the country. Regular air service creates jobs, keeps families connected, and brings tourists into North Dakota. Cutting off this federal funding would hurt rural America, and it makes no sense to entirely eliminate a program that’s working well.”

Enacted in 1978, EAS has provided commercial service to communities that would otherwise go entirely unserved. The program subsidizes commuter and certificated air carriers that serve over 170 communities across the country, including in North Dakota.
In 2014, Heitkamp pushed DOT officials to make air travel more accessible to North Dakotans living outside major airport hubs, as well as make more competitive options available to customers flying to western destinations through EAS service to Devils Lake and Jamestown airports.