WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, is asking U.S. House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham to extend an Essential Air Service (EAS) application deadline that threatens to hamper commercial air service for Bert Mooney Airport in Butte. 

“I’m fighting for Essential Air Service in Montana because transportation is vital to our rural economy,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Western Caucus.  “Delta Airlines is just a few weeks away from completing its EAS application process, and it makes no sense to pull the rug out from under them.  There are countless ways Montana benefits from good air service, and it’s not just the immediate jobs at stake.  That’s why it’s important to see this process through.”

In July, Delta Airlines applied for EAS support for at least seven western and mid-western routes, including service to the airport in Butte.  A mandatory 90-day EAS application period pushes the application process through mid-October.  Earlier this month, the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee approved a measure, authored by Latham, that would prohibit future funding through the Essential Air Service Grant Program for any airline route not approved to receive grants before October 1st. 

This week, Rehberg led a bi-partisan group of lawmakers asking Chairman Latham to extend the October 1st deadline in the proposed measure so Delta could complete its EAS application request.

The letter is below.

The Honorable Tom Latham
Chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

Dear Chairman Latham:

We write to you regarding language contained in the FY2012 House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) funding bill that will negatively impact the Essential Air Service (EAS) within our communities.  The language contained in the bill implements an October 1, 2011 deadline for any new airports to be included in the EAS program.  

As you may be aware, airports go through a lengthy process in applying for the EAS program.  After an airline declares that they will be eliminating service to an airport, it takes 90 days for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to give other parties the opportunity to bid on serving the area.  Currently, there are at least 7 airports that are within that 90-day period, including the Bert Mooney Airport in Butte, Montana, Waterloo Regional Airport in Waterloo, Iowa, Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Aberdeen Regional Airport in Aberdeen, South Dakota and Bemidiji Regional Airport in Bemidiji, Minnesota. In the case of these airports, their 90-day application period will not conclude until 12 days after the cut-off date; a deadline that the applicant airports could not have foreseen back when they submitted their applications in July. 

As you know, EAS serves a vital role in connecting our constituents with the rest of the country and is truly an essential service to much of rural America.  We urge you to extend the deadline to October 15, 2011, a date that would permit these airports the time needed to complete their application process, or to simply amend the current language to include any airport that is currently going through the application process with the DOT. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.