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Issues: Rural Air Service
“Planes on the plains, particularly in Nebraska, aren't extraneous-they're essential.”— Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson
 Rural airports connect our communities to the nation's aviation and commerce system. Rural airports also encourage business investment and create opportunities for economic growth in the communities they serve.
Senator Nelson has been a strong advocate for rural airports and has worked to keep two key federal aviation programs, Essential Air Service and the Airport Improvement Program, working in Nebraska.
Essential Air Service
The Essential Air Service (EAS) program promotes accessibility and growth in rural communities. It maintains the availability of air service by providing a subsidy for air service at rural airports like those in Alliance, Chadron, Kearney, Grand Island, McCook, North Platte and Scottsbluff.
Hundreds of thousands of Nebraskans live hours from the two large airports in Nebraska, or others in neighboring states. Nebraska's two largest airports are only 57 miles apart and in a state that covers 77,000 square miles, rural air service is indeed essential. Many Nebraskans depend on the Essential Air Service to keep rural airports operating and to keep their communities connected to the nation's transportation infrastructure and to provide economic opportunity.
Prices for air travel in smaller communities are higher than similar trips between hub airports. The EAS program keeps the cost of rural air service from becoming prohibitive to the consumer.
Each year since being elected to Congress, Senator Nelson has led efforts to expand the availability of rural air service and worked to increase the funding for EAS to ensure no communities are cut from the program. In addition, he has joined his colleagues in the Senate in rejecting Administration proposals to require EAS communities to provide local matching funds in order to preserve their commercial air service.
Senator Nelson has also supported full funding of the Small Community Air Service Development Program, which is a competitive grant program aimed at funding community-driven initiatives to improve air service in rural areas of the country.
Airport Improvement Program
The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) provides approximately $1 million a year for critical runway and terminal enhancements and security improvements to rural airports with more than 10,000 departing passengers annually.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the resulting drop-off in air travel, three Nebraska airports dropped below 10,000 passengers. Senator Nelson's legislation to give these small airports an extra year to recover, the Small Airport Relief Act, was added to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill in June of 2003.
Senator Nelson will continue to be an advocate for these and other rural air service programs that will keep our small communities on the runway to prosperity, and keep "planes on the plains."
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