Cape Air Commits To Continuing EAS Flights

Although there were national concerns regarding if Essential Air Service flights were going to continue during the government shutdown, Cape Air officials provided a positive message last week.

Cape Air serves five eastern Montana communities — Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney and Wolf Point — through Essential Air Service funding. Essential Air Service was established in 1978 to provide funding to rural airports that would otherwise be unprofitable. The federal funding ran out on Sunday, Oct. 13.

During a conference call on Tuesday, Oct. 7, Montana Essential Air Service Task Force chair Walt McNutt said Cape Air displayed commitment to its service in the state.

“All the task force members were on the call. We’re good to go,” McNutt said. “They will continue to fly because of the support they will get from Montana. They won’t have an interruption of service, now anyway.”

Once national leaders start working on the budget, a continuing resolution for Essential Air Service will be needed.

“But they have to get a budget,” McNutt said. “The president tried to trim [EAS funding], but the Senate sent it back.”

McNutt, who served in the Montana Legislature as a Republican senator and representative, is confident that funding for the service won’t change greatly in the near future.

“By any means, it won’t make a difference in the budget,” McNutt said of the funding. “It’s peanuts for what the government spends.”

During his 20-plus years on the task force, McNutt has experienced many fights regarding the funding including the late Sen. John Mc-Cain, R-Ariz. carrying a bill to potentially cancel EAS. “This isn’t the first time,” McNutt said of the threats.