George Mitchell: “Of course, there are limits to the EAS program. Present law disqualifies any point that is within 70 miles of a large or…”

“Of course, there are limits to the EAS program. Present law disqualifies any point that is within 70 miles of a large or medium hub airport from receiving subsidized air service through EAS. Section 419 of the Federal Aviation Act defines such a hub airport as an airport that annually has 0.25 percent or more of the total annual enplanements in the United States. Because EAS is meant to provide communities with an essential link to the national aviation system, I take it that the enplanements criterion for defining hub airports is meant to identify airports within a reasonable driving distance of a proposed EAS point which offer a sufficient volume of domestic air service as to undermine the need for EAS subsidies.”