Cape airport could lose $1.5 million in airport subsidy under House bill

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport travelers could see doubled air fares or, worst-case scenario, the loss of an airline under a bill being debated in Congress that would phase out more than $1.5 million in local federal transportation subsidies.

The U.S. House will vote on a bill today that would eliminate the Essential Air Service program by 2013 in all states but Alaska and Hawaii. The program, implemented in 1978, provides a total of $200 million each year to 140 rural U.S. airports, including five in Missouri: Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Fort Leonard Wood, Joplin and Kirksville.

"We have gotten a few calls from communities about how the pending legislation might affect the program," said Bill Mosley of the U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees the program.

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport manager Bruce Loy said the subsidies are vital to maintaining quality service at the airport. The subsidy, about $1.5 million each year, is paid in reimbursements to the airline for providing the service, which helps to keep rates low, he said. Airlines will not provide service in rural areas without some sort of financial guarantee, he said.

"That's where the subsidy comes in," Loy said. "Without it, scheduled passenger service will go away."

Hyannis, Mass.-based Cape Air has been the service provider at the airport since 2009. Both Cape Air and another provider, St. Louis-based Air Choice One, have submitted bids for the contract, which expires in November. The city is awaiting word from federal transportation officials about which company will receive the next contract to receive the subsidies. Loy said he expects to hear from the government about the decision any day now, though the city has endorsed Cape Air.

Without the subsidy, Loy said, he isn't sure either of those companies would want to do business here. If Congress does do away with the subsidies, he said, he would be forced to try to find an airline that would come here without any federal assistance.

"I'm going to do anything I can to locate somebody to provide service out of Cape," he said. "Cape Air is already here, so maybe they'd be willing to do it. But I know one thing -- they can't provide $49 service without the subsidy. No way."

Loy estimates that the cost would likely double to at least $100 for a ticket to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. Executives at Cape Air did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.

Loy said passenger figures show that the airline is well used. In January, there were 386 outbound passengers, up from 279 a year ago. Cape Air has even proposed six daily round trips to St. Louis, up from four, as part of its bid for the Essential Air Service contract.

Loy is hopeful the House will defeat the bill that phases out the subsidies and thinks it will, pointing to a U.S. Senate vote last month that shrinks the air subsidy but doesn't eliminate it.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said she would support an amendment today that would preserve the program, saying that without it commercial air service from Cape Girardeau to larger airports would be "nearly impossible."

"Jobs and economic opportunities in our region depend on access, and with the two closest major airports two and three hours away we really do need to support air service to Cape Girardeau," Emerson said.

Mitch Robinson, executive director of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet, said that a loss of airline service would also be the loss of an economic development tool.

"When a company is looking at you, one of the questions they ask is about flight service," Robinson said. "If we lost service, it would definitely be a negative, there's no doubt about that."

Those who fly out of the airport said it would be a great inconvenience to have to drive to St. Louis or Memphis, Tenn., to catch flights.

Cape Girardeau businessman Jason Edwards flies out of Cape Girardeau at least once a week. He flew 115 times one year. By his estimate, he's logged more than 5 million air miles to travel to meet with clients for his job at Convenience Food Systems.

"It has a direct impact on my livelihood and my quality of life," Edwards said. "When you fly as much as I do, you need it to be efficient. Cape Air is very efficient. I like being able to fly out of Cape and catch a flight in St. Louis to anywhere I have to go."

Other airports that would lose annual funding under the bill's provisions would be at Marion, Ill. ($2 million); Decatur, Ill., ($3 million) and Paducah, Ky. ($570,000).

smoyers@semissourian.com

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Cape Girardeau Regional Airport