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Title 49 — TransportationRelease 119-73

§41745 Community and regional choice programs

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE VII— - AVIATION PROGRAMS › Part PART A— - AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY › Subpart subpart ii— - economic regulation › Chapter CHAPTER 417— - OPERATIONS OF CARRIERS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE › § 41745

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation must create an alternate essential air service pilot program. Instead of paying an airline directly, the Secretary can give help to the local government in charge of a town or to the State where the town is. The local government or State can use the help to do things like pay airlines that use smaller planes (and possibly run more flights if the Secretary says it is safe and the State or local government waives the minimum service rules under section 41732(b)), pay for on‑demand air taxi service, pay for scheduled or on‑demand ground trips to another place’s airport, set up a shared regional airport or transport center for several towns, or pay for other transportation services the Secretary allows. To join the program, an applicant must send the Secretary a form with the amount of help wanted and a short plan for how it will be used. If a place gets help under this program in a fiscal year, it cannot also get the usual essential air service payments that same year. A local government that uses this program one year can still join the basic essential air service program in a later fiscal year if it is eligible. Money already set aside for the essential air service program may be used for this pilot program.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §41745

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary of Transportation shall establish an alternate essential air service pilot program in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(2)In carrying out the program, the Secretary, instead of paying compensation to an air carrier to provide essential air service to an eligible place, may provide assistance directly to a unit of local government having jurisdiction over the eligible place or a State within the boundaries of which the eligible place is located.
(3)A unit of local government or State receiving assistance for an eligible place under the program may use the assistance for any of the following purposes:
(A)To provide assistance to air carriers that will use smaller equipment to provide the service and to consider increasing the frequency of service using such smaller equipment if the Secretary determines that passenger safety would not be compromised by the use of such smaller equipment and if the State or unit of local government waives the minimum service requirements under section 41732(b).
(B)To provide assistance to an air carrier to provide on-demand air taxi service to and from the eligible place.
(C)To provide assistance to a person to provide scheduled or on-demand surface transportation to and from the eligible place and an airport in another place.
(D)In combination with other units of local government in the same region, to provide transportation services to and from all the eligible places in that region at an airport or other transportation center that can serve all the eligible places in that region.
(E)To pay for other transportation or related services that the Secretary may permit.
(b)(1)An entity seeking to participate in a program under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(2)At a minimum, the application shall include—
(A)a statement of the amount of compensation or assistance required; and
(B)a description of how the compensation or assistance will be used.
(c)An eligible place for which compensation or assistance is provided under this section in a fiscal year shall not be eligible in that fiscal year for the essential air service that it would otherwise be entitled to under this subchapter.
(d)A unit of local government participating in the program under this subsection (a) in a fiscal year shall not be prohibited from participating in the basic essential air service program under this subchapter in a subsequent fiscal year if such unit is otherwise eligible to participate in such program.
(e)Amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to carry out the essential air service program under this subchapter shall be available to carry out this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (a)(3)(E), (F). Pub. L. 118–63, § 561(k)(1), redesignated subpar. (F) as (E) and struck out former subpar. (E) which read as follows: “To purchase aircraft to provide transportation to and from the eligible place or to purchase a fractional share in an aircraft to provide such transportation after the

Effective Date

of a rule the Secretary issues relating to fractional ownership.” Subsecs. (b) to (g). Pub. L. 118–63, § 561(k)(2), (3), redesignated subsecs. (d) to (g) as (b) to (e), respectively, and struck out former subsecs. (b) and (c) which related to community flexibility pilot program and fractionally owned aircraft, respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 2003, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–176, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2003 Amendment note under section 106 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 41745

Title 49 — Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73