Letter to the Hon. Elaine Chao, Secretary of the Dept. of Transportation - RI Delegation Urges Trump Administration to Reconsider Minimum Service Rule That Unfairly Damages T.F. Green & Other Airports

Letter

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.