The Enid News and Eagle reports that on August 31, commercial air service out of Woodring Regional Airport in Enid, Okaholma will end. This service, operated by Great Lakes Aviation, was operated under the Essential Air Service Subsidy from the FAA.
Despite the fact the FAA’s contract to subsidize Enid didn’t expire till March of 2007, the FAA terminated it. The city had expressed an interest in funding the difference, however, the new costs would be beyond what the city could pay due to rising fuel costs. Attempts by politicians to change the ruling were unsuccessful.
The Essential Air Service program came into place after deregulation in 1978, to guarantee that small communities that would otherwise not receive schedule service could maintain service under federal subsidy. The program currently supports over a 100 rural communities. For a list of currently subsidized cities, there is a list in May’s EAS report, found here.