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Regional
Aviation News
Sen. Specter To Introduce Bill To Fund EAS Program
May 2, 2003
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) this week will introduce legislation returning Lancaster, Pa., and other communities to the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. A spokesman for Specter’s office said he had not yet dropped the legislation, called the Essential Air Service Eligibility Fairness Act of 2003. Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) is expected to introduce companion legislation in the House. DOT removed Lancaster and other communities from the EAS program because of its interpretation of mileage requirements. Regional Airline Partners (RAP) worked with Specter to develop a more uniform measure. RAP Executive Director Maurice Parker said the partnership would work to ensure the bill passes.
Commonly Traveled Route Specter and Pitts announced the bill on Monday at Lancaster Airport. It will require DOT to use “the most commonly used route” between the community and the hub airport and require the DOT to defer to a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) or an organization designated by the governor of the state, as the final authority to certify the distance and most commonly traveled route between hub airports and EAS communities, RAP said. DOT removed Lancaster from the EAS program in April 2002 because it was within 65.3 driving miles of Philadelphia Airport, less than five miles short of the 70-mile statutory limit. RAP said that rather than using the “most commonly used highway route” of 85.4 miles on US 222 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, DOT used its “discretion” and “chose a tortuous 66-mile route between Lancaster and Philadelphia, going through villages and boroughs that no Lancastrian would travel. That route takes more than three hours to drive, instead of the most commonly used route requiring only an hour and a half.” -DM
Source: Aviation Daily, May 2, 2003
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