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Published May 13, 2011, 06:20 AM

Future air service being negotiated

Lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate are negotiating the future of the Essential Air Service program. The outcome could affect several cities in the Dakotas.

(AP) — Lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate are negotiating the future of the Essential Air Service program. The outcome could affect several cities in the Dakotas.

The program began in 1978 after the government deregulated the airlines. It gives carriers a financial incentive not to drop lightly traveled routes that lose money.

In North Dakota, Devils Lake, Dickinson and Jamestown benefit from the program. In South Dakota, Huron and Watertown benefit.

The House has voted to phase out the program. The Senate wants to spare it but tighten eligibility criteria in ways that could disqualify some of the 110 airports nationwide that presently benefit from the subsidies.

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