A group of airports and concerned stakeholders have launched an advocacy coalition, RESTORE Air Service. RESTORE (Restoring Essential Service to Our Rural Economies) is comprised of airports and regional stakeholders that have lost significant — if not all — daily air service since the pandemic.

Led by Williamsport Regional Airport, the coalition will be working with Congress and the Biden Administration to promote changes in the 2023 FAA Reauthorization Bill to better support rural and small community airports, a news release said.

“Anytime in a rural community that is trying to retain business and attract business to the area, air service is vital,” said Tom Freeman, the director of aviation with the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in upstate New York, according to the news release.

“Our small and rural community airports are the main economic driver for our regions, and airports like ours are getting hit worst and first. Issues like the pilot shortage, mass cancellations and just a lack of dedicated daily air service are hurting our communities and creating an economic challenge,” said Richard Howell, director for the Williamsport Regional Airport and RESTORE spokesman, according to the news release.

During the pandemic, major airlines were given over $54 billion in COVID-related support, while smaller airports saw their air service severely reduced or eliminated. About 14 airports have lost all daily air service since the pandemic, and over 50 have lost at least half of their daily air service — mainly in rural and smaller communities.

The Essential Air Service and Small Community Air Service Development program are two programs vital to ensuring air-service to rural and smaller communities. However, due to changes made to the Essential Air Service program during the 2012 FAA Reauthorization, it is effectively closed off to airports who want to join the program, while Small Community Air Service Development only has an annual budget of $15 million.

With the FAA up for reauthorization this year, RESTORE will urge Congress to make changes to these programs that would re-open Essential Air Service by creating a waiver — re-open the program for a 5-year window for airports currently ineligible if they can show significant air service loss since 2020. Additionally, the coalition is pushing to increase funding for the Small Community Air Service Development program to better meet the demand on the program.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, and U.S. Rep. David Trone, D-Md., recently introduced bi-partisan legislation to re-open the Essential Air Service program for three years.