Iowa’s small airports brace for loss of funds if shutdown continues through mid-November

As the government shutdown nears the one-month mark, Iowa airports, particularly those in more rural areas, are paying close attention to what may happen with an essential source of federal funds set to lapse in the middle of next month.

Funding for the Essential Air Service program, which five rural Iowa airports rely on to help subsidize flights to larger airports that would otherwise be unprofitable for airline carriers, is set to dry up on Nov. 18. The program ensures airports in Burlington, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Sioux City and Waterloo can continue serving commercial flights.

The EAS program launched in 1978 after Congress deregulated the airline industry. It awards about $600 million in contracts to more than 170 small airports annually. In 2025, the program provided nearly $34 million across the five Iowa airports.

Since the government shut down earlier this month, EAS funding was set to lapse twice, including on Nov. 2. The U.S. Department of Transportation has extended program funding twice — once on Oct. 8 and again on Oct. 29.

“The Department will continue to closely monitor the availability of budgetary resources as November 18, 2025, approaches and will provide further updates as needed if the lapse in appropriations continues,” a U.S. DOT memo released Wednesday states.

While EAS funding is guaranteed through mid-November, rural Iowa airports are still bracing for a situation where their commercial carriers have to cancel flights if there is a funding lapse.

Flights in and out of rural airports aren’t profitable, so EAS is an incentive to ensure they fly to these Iowa cities, said Iowa Department of Transportation Aviation Director Tim McClung.

“Airlines need to serve routes that are sustainable and that are profitable, as much as I think they'd like to, and we'd all like them to, they're not going to come and serve a market if it's not consistent and it's not profitable for them,” McClung said.

Waterloo Regional Airport received roughly $7.4 million from the program in 2025. The airport has American Airlines flights to and from O’Hare Airport in Chicago daily, with an average of 150 to 200 passengers.

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Airport Director Steven Kjergaard said that while American Airlines has told them they plan to continue to fly even though EAS money is set to run out, but that ability grows more uncertain the longer the shutdown goes.

“If it's a longer-term shutdown, they (American) may end up removing or terminating flights or canceling altogether,” Kjergaard said. “We hope that doesn't happen, because that will be a major impact for us.”

Kjergaard said that EAS funding plays a “vital” role in the airport’s ability to serve flights to Chicago, which he says helps Cedar Valley maintain viability to compete nationally in attracting businesses.

Sioux City Interim City Manager Mike Collett said the Sioux Gateway Airport, which serves flights to Chicago and Denver, has not yet seen any impacts from the approaching EAS funding lapse. Collett said the funding provides a commercial service that the airport otherwise wouldn’t have.

“It's an essential part of what we do, and we rely on that program,” Collett said.

Skywest provides flights to passengers flying in and out of Mason City Municipal Airport, Fort Dodge Regional Airport and Sioux Gateway Airport.

"We are working with each community and evaluating our capabilities in the event of a longer-term government shutdown,” Skywest said in a provided statement. “It is our intent to honor our service commitments, including those under the Federal EAS program who rely on SkyWest's reliable air service as an essential economic lifeline."

Mason City Municipal Airport Manager David Sims said at this time, flight operations are continuing as scheduled.

“We continue to closely monitor developments related to the federal government shutdown and its potential impacts on the Essential Air Service program, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Transportation Security Administration,” Sims said in a statement.

Southeast Iowa Regional Airport in Burlington declined to comment for this article.

Impact of TSA, FAA furloughs

While other airports across the country are seeing flight delays and experiencing short staffing as Transportation Security Administration workers and air traffic controllers continue to miss paychecks during the shutdown, McClung said this trend isn’t as prominent in Iowa.

According to McClung, there have been isolated incidents of Iowa airports experiencing short staffing, but so far, airports have been able to find ways to cover those shifts and keep flights on time.

But, he said, that will likely change if the government shutdown continues.

“The situation probably won't improve in the short term, and we may expect impacts both with security checkpoints and in the air traffic control system,” McClung said. “We do know that many of those folks are going to work, and they're not getting paid.”

At the Waterloo Regional Airport, Kjergaard said he knows of airport workers who are looking for other work opportunities and the airport is already short-staffed, including in the air traffic control tower. If the airport isn’t well-staffed enough, it could result in flights being delayed, canceled or even the airspace closing.

“Many of those individuals as they are looking into November, if they’ve gone that long, that means they've gone by four pay periods without a full paycheck, which will be challenging for anybody to continue to live with without getting paid, especially that long,” Kjergaard said.