Politico is out with an interesting article.
They note that airline service for rural airports were dramatically cut during Covid, as expected, but they haven’t increased since the pandemic has waned. This represents the loss of a lifeline for rural citizens across America.
Del Rio, for example, is a city of 35,000 people. They used to have frequent flights in and out of Dallas. That was cut during the pandemic, and now it appears that the cut is permanent. That means that Del Rio has no commercial airlines service whatsoever. Only thing they could do is drive two and a half hours to San Antonio.
Over 300 airports have had their service cut during the pandemic, where almost a third of their flights have been lost. That service has not been restored.
And Del Rio isn’t alone. 14 airports have had their commercial service cut completely. That means no going in an out in these areas via plane. Even Mobile, Alabama, a city of 200,000 people, has no airline service whatsoever.
Cities like Dubuque, Iowa, which has lost service, are already feeling the pain. 200 jobs have been cut in the city, and they suffered a $26 million economic loss.
The Democratic mayor sounded off to Politico saying, “In rural communities like ours there’s no way we’re going to survive long-term without air service. We’re going to die a slow, agonizing death.”
Let’s read the tea-leaves there. A mayor is taking his own party to task. Expect this mess to cost votes for Democrats at the ballot box. Surely Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg could be doing something. He did extend airline pilot pay, hoping to attract more. But lack of interest wasn’t the problem. He simply sidestepped the solution.
This may be a small story, but expect enough votes to go back into the GOP column, as rural and small city residents feel like the party in power is leaving them behind.
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