95-504 ) granted U.S. passenger airlines almost total freedom to determine which domestic markets to serve and what airfares to charge. With the advent of deregulation, there were concerns that small communities would lose air service because airlines would shift their operations to serve larger and often more profitable markets. To address these concerns, Congress established the Essential Air Service (EAS) program in the Airline Deregulation Act to ensure continuous air service to small communities. At the end of FY2018, a total of 174 communities received subsidized EAS service. The Airline Deregulation Act authorized CAB to require carriers to continue providing scheduled service at eligible communities after deregulation, with subsidies if necessary. The Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 ( P.L. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-254 ) reauthorized the program through FY2023 and introduced several legislative measures, including Section 453, which amends 49 U.S.C. §41736 to sunset the Air Transportation to Noneligible Places (ATNEP) program in 2020. Airports that were formerly eligible but did not receive subsidized service during the specified year are no longer eligible for subsidized service and may not reenter the program. EAS Communities in Alaska and Hawaii

Communities in Alaska and Hawaii are generally exempt from almost all EAS eligibility requirements, except one measure established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 ( P.L. 113-76 ) and the Continued Appropriations Resolution of 2015 ( P.L. 113-164 ). Program Administration

The EAS program is administered by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, which determines the minimum level of service required at each eligible community by specifying
a hub through which the community is linked to the national passenger airline network; a minimum number of round trips and available seats that must be provided to that hub; certain characteristics of the aircraft to be used; and the maximum permissible number of intermediate stops to the hub. Certain features of the program may have contributed to the challenge of controlling costs: 
Few carriers may bid for any particular EAS contract. Subsidy cost is not among the four major factors DOT is required by statute to consider when evaluating bids. Measures to Shrink the Program

Over the years, Congress has sought to limit the scope of the EAS program, mostly by eliminating subsidy support for communities within a reasonable driving distance of a major hub airport and by imposing a cap on the per-passenger subsidy. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 ( P.L.
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 gave airlines almost total freedom to determine which domestic markets to serve and what airfares to charge. This raised the concern that communities with relatively low passenger levels would lose service as carriers shifted their operations to serve larger and often more profitable markets. To address this concern, Congress established the Essential Air Service (EAS) program to ensure that small communities that were served by certificated air carriers before deregulation would continue to receive scheduled passenger service, with subsidies if necessary.
The EAS program is administered by the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which enforces the eligibility requirements and determines the level of service required at eligible communities. By the end of FY2018, 174 communities in the United States received subsidized service under EAS.
Over the years, Congress has limited the scope of the program, mostly by eliminating subsidy support for communities within a specified driving distance of a major hub airport and capping subsidies under certain criteria. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 included additional EAS reform measures, including the requirement that a community have a minimum number of daily enplanements to remain eligible for subsidy. Further, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-76) and the Continuing Appropriations Resolution of 2015 (P.L. 113-164) introduced additional measures to shrink the program. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254) changed certain requirements regarding application of subsidy caps and would discontinue the Air Transportation to Noneligible Places (ATNEP) program in 2020.
Despite these efforts to limit spending for EAS subsidies, inflation-adjusted program expenditures have risen 132% since 2008. Some factors contributing to the rising program costs are external, such as high aviation fuel prices from 2008 through 2014 and the prospect of higher pilot wage costs due to changes in federal regulations. However, certain features of the EAS program itself may have contributed to the challenge of controlling costs. The statute governing EAS does not list cost among the four factors that DOT must consider when evaluating air carriers' bids to provide subsidized EAS service, and neither the carriers nor the communities receiving subsidized service are obliged to select service options that minimize the government's costs.
EAS traditionally has been authorized in laws reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and other civil aviation programs. The 2018 FAA reauthorization act reauthorized the program through FY2023.