It is not the first rodeo for Boone County Airport manager Judy McCutcheon.
She says this time it feels a little different.
McCutcheon was referring to the Essential Air Service (EAS) funding being cut by the federal government.
“This happens with every administration that you go through,” she said. “It is scary times. Of course, you worry, and you think ‘are we going to keep it or are we going to be put on the chopping block?’”
McCutcheon has been in her position for more than three decades.
“I have been here 34 years, and we have EAS all 34 of my time here,” she said.
It was announced by the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) committee that EAS was an area that the government was going to make cuts. There are four airports in Arkansas that would be affected by the cuts. Joining Harrison would be Jonesboro, El Dorado, and Hot Springs. The cut of funding would probably eliminate air service to all four airports. McCutcheon knows that it would to Harrison.
There are two areas that McCutcheon feels will help the cause of the small airports across the country. The first is the number of airports that receive EAS funds.
“There are 186 EAS communities in the United States,” McCutcheon started. “A Congressman represents every one of those communities. They are not going to vote no to hurt their airport and their communities.”
Then the second part of the equation is something that few realize. The EAS funds are not tax dollars.
“The biggest misguided statement is that the EAS is funded by taxpayers and the flights go half empty,” started McCutcheon. “That is not a true statement.”
She went on to explain.
“The EAS is funded by international foreign aircrafts that fly in the United States airspace,” she said. “They don’t land in our airspace but fly over our airspace. They are billed for that. All the money from that goes to the EAS. That is how the EAS has always been funded.”
McCutcheon continued to discuss the matter.
“I get it when you start saying taxpayer funds. That hits home,” she said. “But the EAS has never been taxpayer funds. That is a big, misguided concept. We must educate our Congressmen and Senators on how it is funded. I am hopeful that they don’t touch it. It serves a purpose.”
McCutcheon moved on to say that contacting our elected officials is a good place to start.
“I encourage people to contact their congressman and senator to let them know how important this is,” she said. “Never take EAS for granted. Don’t assume that we will be okay. Hopefully, it all works out. You never know.”
The budget for the EAS is less than a tenth of one percent of the total U.S. Department of Transportation budget, according to McCutcheon.
Should Boone County lose the EAS, there will be financial repercussions.
“It will affect our airport if we lose the funding,” the manager said. “The revenue that the airline alone brings in is around $4,500 a month. Then there are the car rentals from the people getting off the flights. We would lose money there. We get a 15% commission from those.
“Our FBO (fixed-based operator) that sells fuel to the airline will lose money,” continued McCutcheon. “The majority of their fuel sales is to our airline. It has a trickle down effect for our airport.”
McCutcheon estimated that there are 27 people that are employed by different companies at the airport.
At this point, the airport is full steam ahead. McCutcheon and the airport board may worry in the back of their minds, but she had words for patrons.
She stated, “Even if it is cut, it will be phased out over time. It is not going to be cut immediately, and you are done. Don’t fear booking a flight. Get out of here and go places.”
