Small Community Air Service Enhancement Act

Small Community Air Service Enhancement Act

This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 and revises the Small Community Air Service Development Program, a Department of Transportation (DOT) grant program designed to help small communities address air service and airfare issues.

The bill requires DOT to prioritize grants to communities that meet certain requirements, including where the assistance will be used to help restore scheduled passenger air service that has been terminated or significantly reduced. Under the current program, the air service must have been terminated.

Further, DOT must solicit grant applications during a fiscal year when DOT has in excess of $5 million available to provide grants in that fiscal year.

Bill 118 s 1438, also known as the Small Community Air Service Enhancement Act, is a piece of legislation introduced in the United States Congress. The main goal of this bill is to improve air service to small communities across the country.

The bill includes provisions to provide financial assistance to small airports in order to help them attract and maintain air service. This assistance can be used for a variety of purposes, such as marketing efforts to promote the airport to airlines, infrastructure improvements to accommodate larger aircraft, and subsidies to airlines to incentivize them to provide service to these communities.

Additionally, the bill aims to increase transparency and accountability in the air service industry by requiring airlines to report on the availability and quality of service to small communities. This information will be used to identify areas where improvements can be made and to ensure that airlines are meeting their obligations to provide service to all communities, regardless of size. Overall, the Small Community Air Service Enhancement Act seeks to address the challenges faced by small communities in accessing air travel and to promote economic development and connectivity in these areas. It is currently being considered by Congress and has received bipartisan support.