A federal air service subsidy critical for 65 rural Alaska communities could run out of funding by Sunday as the federal government shutdown continues.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Monday that the Essential Air Service could lapse on Sunday. Alaska, he said, is the top beneficiary of the program.

“You don’t have roads in Alaska. They travel by air, and a lot of these are small communities,” Duffy said in a press conference on Monday. “Alaska will be impacted, but every state across the country will be impacted by the inability to provide the subsidies to airlines to service these communities.”

The Essential Air Service program provides subsidies allowing air carriers to transport passengers, cargo and essentials such as groceries and mail to rural Alaska. It serves

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