PROVIDENCE, RI -- After the Trump Administration slighted T.F. Green airport in a “continuation of service” order for airlines receiving assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law No. 116-136), Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation is urging the Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to ensure high levels of safety and service at all airports.

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today penned a letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) asking her to amend route requirement guidance that would unfairly impact air service at T.F. Green Airport. 

In the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, all airlines are reducing service and traffic at airports is down worldwide.  The CARES Act included about $58 billion in loans and grants to bail out struggling U.S. airlines and help airline employees, along with conditions to prevent layoffs and limit things like stock buybacks.  It also included requirements, subject to DOT interpretation, to ensure that airlines that accept federal bailout funds continue to fly out of markets they already serve.

However, DOT’s final minimum service rule gives airlines that serve multiple airports clearance to consolidate to just one.  Furthermore, the new rule issued by DOT consolidates T.F. Green Airport together with Logan Airport in Boston and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire, which could allow carriers to potentially cut flights at the smaller airports in favor of larger airports. 

Rhode island’s Congressional delegation is urging Secretary Elaine Chao to treat all airports fairly, writing: “Rather than creating a group of equals, there is an inherent disparity.  Airlines are likely to find it more efficient to consolidate where they have the heaviest concentration of flights.  Indeed, one airline has already announced that it will cease operations at T.F. Green.  The damage to T.F. Green is compounded because nearby Bradley (BDL) has been designated as its own point with guaranteed service.” 

The letter continues: “We appreciate the challenge DOT faced in creating a rational policy within a matter of days.  However, the one-size-fits-all policy is inherently unfair to T.F. Green, which is still fighting to recover the passenger traffic it lost during the Great Recession.  Given the importance of the airport to the Rhode Island economy and its prospects for recovery, we urge you to amend the order to make T.F. Green its own point.”    

Full text of the letter follows:

April 9, 2020

The Honorable Elaine Chao
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Chao:

We write to request that you amend the recently issued “continuation of service” order, which was established pursuant to sections 4005 and 4114 of the CARES Act, in order to alleviate the potential negative effect it will have on T.F. Green International Airport (PVD). 

Under the order, DOT designated destinations or “points” where airlines receiving taxpayer assistance under the CARES Act must continue to fly.  In most cases, these “points” are airports, but for some metropolitan areas, several airports were consolidated as a single “point.”  Many of the airports subject to consolidation are of comparable size and arguably have critical mass to retain independent service even as part of a “point” with others. In contrast, T.F. Green has been grouped with Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS).  Rather than creating a group of equals, there is an inherent disparity.  Airlines are likely to find it more efficient to consolidate where they have the heaviest concentration of flights.  Indeed, one airline has already announced that it will cease operations at T.F. Green.  The damage to T.F. Green is compounded because nearby Bradley (BDL) has been designated as its own point with guaranteed service. 

We appreciate the challenge DOT faced in creating a rational policy within a matter of days.  However, the one-size-fits-all policy is inherently unfair to T.F. Green, which is still fighting to recover the passenger traffic it lost during the Great Recession.  Given the importance of the airport to the Rhode Island economy and its prospects for recovery, we urge you to amend the order to make T.F. Green its own point.    

Thank you for your consideration of this request and we look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,