‘We’re a long way from anywhere else’: Small US cities hit with airline service cuts in pandemic

More than seven months into a pandemic, some small cities are grappling with airline service cuts because of the slump in air travel. US airlines lost more than $10b in the previous quarter and have been cutting routes to some small cities in an effort to stop bleeding cash. Under the terms of $25b in federal aid, airlines were prohibited from laying off employees through Sept. 30 and were required to maintain minimum levels of service. Now that those terms have expired, airlines have begun furloughing thousands of workers and are cutting additional routes — service reductions that are hitting smaller cities especially hard. Talks for additional aid have dragged on for months without a deal. American Airlines, for example, initially suspended service to 11 cities from Oct. 7 to Nov. 3 and has recently extended those suspensions until the end of November. CEO Doug Parker said earlier this month that American would be forced to make cuts to other markets if the government fails to provide additional aid to the industry. For six of those airports, American is the only carrier operating scheduled flights. Many of them are hundreds of miles from the nearest airport or major city. Service cuts at airports like these are more than an inconvenience. Airports, even small ones, provide a wide range of jobs, everything from maintenance and food service to taxi driving and construction. Some airports may get by with private and chartered flights, but scheduled airline flights provide a valuable stream of visitors and revenue. Story has more.<br/>