• Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-1997-2785) from the
U.S. Department of Transportation: • Order 2003-6-28 (June 6, 2003): tentatively terminates the subsidy eligibility of Brookings, South Dakota, under the Essential air Service Program because the subsidy per passenger exceeds the $200 per passenger statutory ceiling and the community is less than 210 highway miles from the large hub airport at Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The Department is also setting a final subsidy annual rate of $1,911,452 for Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., for service at Brookings and Huron, South Dakota, from January 1, 2003, until the termination of service at Brookings becomes effective. • Order 2004-4-8 (April 6, 2004): requests proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service (EAS) at Brookings, Huron and/or Pierre, South Dakota, for a two-year period, with or without subsidy. • Order 2004-7-5 (July 6, 2004): selecting Air Midwest to provide subsidized essential air service at Brookings and Huron, for a two-year period; to consist of 12 weekly flights routed Huron - Brookings - Omaha - Brookings - Huron, with 19-seat
Beech 1900-D aircraft, at an annual subsidy of $2,078,727. • Order 2006-8-11 (August 11, 2006): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Brookings and Huron, South Dakota, consisting of two daily one-stop round trips to Denver International Airport, at annual subsidy rates of $1,212,400, and $793,733, respectively, beginning October 1, 2006. • Order 2008-2-37 (February 29, 2008): requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing essential air service (EAS) at Brookings, Hagerstown and Lancaster through September 30, 2008, with or without subsidy. None of the three communities currently receive scheduled air service. All three communities had lost subsidy eligibility because they did not meet statutory eligibility criteria—Hagerstown and Lancaster because they are within 70 driving miles of a large hub (Philadelphia International Airport), and Brookings because its subsidy per passenger exceeded $200 and the community is within 210 miles of a large hub airport (Minneapolis International Airport). Section 409 of Vision 100 (Public Law 108-176, Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2003) entitled communities that lost subsidy eligibility during the two-year period ending on the date of enactment, December 12, 2003, to petition the Department to review the mileage determination. • Order 2008-12-30 (December 30, 2008): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Brookings, South Dakota, beginning when the carrier inaugurates service, through September 30, 2009, at the annual subsidy rate of $1,887,110. == External links ==