{"id":42957,"date":"2026-07-23T11:19:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=42957"},"modified":"2026-07-23T11:19:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:19:59","slug":"trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 Illinois airports rely on federal subsidies for commercial air routes<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By BEN SZALINSKI<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"mailto:bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Article Summary<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">President Donald Trump\u2019s budget calls for cutting $372 million in funding for the Essential Air Service program, which subsidizes commercial flights to Decatur, Marion and Quincy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The longstanding program provides airlines financial assistance to operate routes to smaller communities that would not have air service because it wouldn\u2019t be profitable for the airlines.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to the three Illinois airports in the program, the federal government subsidizes flights from Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare International Airport to 16 other communities throughout the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supporters of the program say any federal reductions to the program would negatively impact communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funding for commercial flights to small airports around the country, including to three communities in Illinois, could be reduced under President Donald Trump\u2019s budget proposal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congress is evaluating <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/budget_fy2027.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the budget proposal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which calls for reducing funding for the Essential Air Service program at the U.S. Department of Transportation by $372 million. The program, which subsidizes flights to rural areas and small cities throughout the country, costs about $633.5 million annually as of May 1, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transportation.gov\/sites\/dot.gov\/files\/May%202026%20EAS%20Report%2048_HI_PR.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> annual report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Current funding includes $18.7 million for commercial flights from Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare International Airport to Decatur, Quincy and Marion \u2014 airports that otherwise would not have commercial aviation without the EAS program. It\u2019s early in the budgeting process, so implementation dates and the amount of cuts, if any are approved, are subject to change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doug Kimmel, director of Veterans Airport in Marion, said the connection that air service provides is critical to the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for our ability to maintain service currently with that federal subsidy, access to southern Illinois via the national or even international air transportation system would be a car ride from Missouri or Indiana and Tennessee,\u201d Kimmel said in an interview. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not what anybody in Illinois wants to try to tout as a means of not only retaining existing business and industry but attracting others as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transportation.gov\/policy\/aviation-policy\/small-community-rural-air-service\/essential-air-service\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">program was established<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 1978, when Congress passed legislation deregulating the airline industry, and large airlines expanded service to other destinations. Nearly 180 communities are served by a commercial airline under the program, including 65 in deeply rural Alaska. The airlines typically fly smaller aircraft on two round-trip flights per day from larger hubs like O\u2019Hare to provide the service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Airlines that provide the routes receive an annual subsidy from the federal government that creates a 5% profit margin. The subsidies make up the difference between the revenue the airline generates from ticket sales and the operating cost of the route. Given the lower volume of passengers using the flight service from the smaller communities, the routes would not be profitable without the subsidy, meaning airlines would likely not offer them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to the three Illinois cities that are part of the EAS program, travelers from 16 other cities generally throughout the Midwest can fly to O\u2019Hare on a federally funded route.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Trump\u2019s proposal<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The president\u2019s federal fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, authored by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, says the program is paying for \u201chalf empty flights from airports that are within easy commuting distance from each other\u201d while spending on it is \u201cout of control,\u201d having <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.durbin.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/durbin-discusses-impact-of-faa-reauthorization-act-on-decatur-airport-and-additional-federal-funding-for-local-infrastructure-projects\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">doubled since 2021<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposal says funding will be reduced through unspecified changes to community eligibility and subsidy rates that will make it more sustainable to continue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis is a budget that does reflect our desire to have efficiencies brought into it, but we do not want to see communities cut off from air travel,\u201d Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told a Senate appropriations committee in May.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Duffy said the program\u2019s continued funding and operation during the record government shutdown last year shows the Trump administration\u2019s commitment to keeping it running.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, chairs the appropriations committee. She\u2019s a key vote in the Senate and is one of the top targets for Democrats hoping to retake control of the Senate in November. She told Duffy in May she is \u201cvery concerned\u201d about Trump\u2019s proposal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe Essential Air Service program is truly a lifeline to rural communities across the country, helping to connect them to national and global transportation networks, as well as to critical services,\u201d Collins said in the committee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Southern Illinois\u2019 connection<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Marion\u2019s airport near the state\u2019s southern border, Kimmel said he doesn\u2019t expect any airlines to continue service to southern Illinois without EAS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEffectively, we would become a general aviation airport, and jobs would be lost here at the airport, but not the least of which is going to be the effect throughout our region economically,\u201d Kimmel said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marion is starting a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\/document\/DOT-OST-2000-7881-0138\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">new agreement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with American Airlines on Aug. 1 to provide 12 round-trip flights each week to O\u2019Hare. American is replacing Contour Airlines, which offered flights from O\u2019Hare and Nashville since August 2023. American is set to receive about $6 million each year from the federal government to operate the route through July 2028.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American will also be using a larger 65-seat plane, doubling the number of possible passengers from Contour\u2019s 30-seat aircraft. Even with the larger plane, American submitted the cheapest of four competing bids and was the preferred choice by local officials in the region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are probably the poster child for the potential success that EAS can have for a community with the fact that we are preparing to see service from a mainline carrier with an aircraft more than twice the size of what we have now,\u201d Kimmel said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kimmel said Marion has seen increases in the number of passengers under Contour\u2019s contract. He said passengers choose to fly from Marion to save time, even though it often costs more than using a higher traffic airport.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s the efficiencies that this type of service provides that people realize,\u201d Kimmel said. \u201cTo have the option of that connectivity and that efficiency of travel is important and people just want to be able to take advantage of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Congress significantly reduced funding for the EAS program, Kimmel said the risk to Marion\u2019s flight program would depend on how the federal government implements changes, but he expects many communities would lose flights or see schedules reduced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Decatur<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decatur\u2019s population of 70,000 is situated 45 minutes between Springfield and Champaign, which each have airports that offer more regular commercial service. But the city is also home to one of the largest agricultural businesses in the country, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTransportation is everything,\u201d Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said in an interview. \u201cPeople expect to be able to get where they\u2019re going quickly, to have the service be reliable and they want to get home.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SkyWest, which markets their flights under the United Express banner, operates 12 round-trip flights each week from Decatur to O\u2019Hare. The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">airline receives<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> $6.4 million annually from the federal government as part of a four-year agreement that began in December 2024. SkyWest expects to move about 21,800 passengers each year. Decatur is required by law to have at least 10 people aboard every flight that departs the airport because it is less than 175 driving miles from the nearest large airport.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Convenience is one of the top selling points for Decatur\u2019s airport, Moore Wolfe said; security takes just minutes to pass and the direct flights to Chicago cut down on driving time. She said she hopes the city will be able to keep its EAS designation if the federal government changes the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be the end of the world, but it would hurt,\u201d Moore Wolfe said of potentially losing the designation. \u201cIt\u2019s a really well-used service, especially with the plane that we have at this time. It\u2019s been a very successful program.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Quincy<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quincy began a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\/document\/DOT-OST-2003-14492-0158\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">new $6.5 million agreement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with Contour on May 1 to include flights to Nashville in addition to O\u2019Hare. The airline\u2019s original two-year agreement to provide service to the community with less than 40,000 residents began last November and runs through October 2027. Following the changes implemented in May, it now calls for Contour to operate five round-trip flights to Nashville and seven to O\u2019Hare each week on a 30-passenger plane, serving more than 20,000 passengers annually.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contour earned the winning bid because it uses smaller planes. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\/document\/DOT-OST-2003-14492-0149\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Documents show<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Quincy\u2019s airport would have to make $120,000 in upgrades to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to accommodate larger planes used by SkyWest and Air Wisconsin, another partner of United.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the federal order approving Contour\u2019s bid, the DOT said it rejected Cape Air\u2019s bid because of a history of problems with the airline, including unreliable small planes and trouble fulfilling the agreement. DOT said Cape canceled numerous flights to and from Quincy in 2022 over staffing issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capitol News Illinois<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3 Illinois airports rely on federal subsidies for commercial air routes By BEN SZALINSKI Capitol News Illinois bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com Article Summary President Donald Trump\u2019s budget calls for cutting $372 million in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":29806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T16:19:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airplane.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"679\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"442\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Sapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Sapp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Sapp\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1\"},\"headline\":\"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-23T16:19:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1541,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/airplane.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/airplane.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-23T16:19:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Effingham's News and Sports Leader\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/airplane.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/airplane.webp\",\"width\":679,\"height\":442},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/local-news\\\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/premier-logo-v1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/premier-logo-v1.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":69,\"caption\":\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1\",\"name\":\"Greg Sapp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thexradio.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/greg_sapp\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","og_description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/","og_site_name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","article_published_time":"2026-07-23T16:19:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":679,"height":442,"url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airplane.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Greg Sapp","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Sapp","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/"},"author":{"name":"Greg Sapp","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1"},"headline":"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports","datePublished":"2026-07-23T16:19:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/"},"wordCount":1541,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airplane.webp","articleSection":["Local News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/","name":"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airplane.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-23T16:19:59+00:00","description":"Effingham's News and Sports Leader","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airplane.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airplane.webp","width":679,"height":442},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/42957-trump-budget-proposal-could-threaten-airline-service-at-downstate-airports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump Budget Proposal Could Threaten Airline Service at Downstate Airports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/","name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/premier-logo-v1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/premier-logo-v1.png","width":272,"height":69,"caption":"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4a7a4f3418a551e6319888ef00a8f1","name":"Greg Sapp","url":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/author\/greg_sapp\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Greg Sapp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42958,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42957\/revisions\/42958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}