US government pays $2,300 per person to fly to this tiny airport in Arkansas

There’s a tiny airport out in Arkansas which costs the US government $2,300 per passenger that arrives.

The US government has to subsidize the small airport in Jonesboro, Arkansas, despite not everyone being on board with the plan.

It has a fascinating history, but most people will have never even have heard of it before.

Now a YouTuber has landed at the airport to find out exactly what the story is.

The most unusual airports in the world

Most of us will have been to an airport at one point or another.

Leaving aside minor variations, we usually know what to expect – long queues at the security, tons of shops and restaurants, and even more queuing at the departure gate.

But there are a couple of airports that defy all conventions.

There’s Kansai Airport in Japan, which is slowly sinking beneath the waves.

Down in Indonesia, the Domine Eduard Osok Airport is notable for having no fencing, meaning it’s totally accessible for anybody to walk onto.

And then there’s St. Maarten airport in the Caribbean, at which beachgoers are blown over every time a plane comes in to land.

But none of them are quite like the airport out in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Why the US government is spending $2,300 per passenger at this airport in Arkansas

YouTuber Noel Philips is no stranger to planes, with his content seeing him do everything from fly in the oldest Boeing 737 to spending 15 hours on the world’s longest Boeing 747 flight.

This time around, he was flying into a small Arkansas airport do some boots-on-the-ground investigating.

Heading off from St. Louis, Missouri on board a 9-seat Cessna Caravan, he made his way to Jonesboro, Arkansas.

“As far as Cessna Caravans go, this is a very nice one,” Philips commented.

“It’s only a few weeks old and it’s like a private jet inside. Well, almost. Apart from the noise.”

Only three of the seats of the plane were filled, indicating this wasn’t the busiest of routes.

So it might come as a shock to learn that the US government spends more than $4.6 million each year to subsidize this route.

With only around 2,000 annual passengers, that works out at around $2,300 per passenger.

How exactly had this situation come about?

A loophole ended up working in the favor of this tiny airport

In 1978, the Airline Deregulation Act was signed into law, ending 40 years of federal economic control over the commercial airline industry.

It was at this point the EAS [Essential Air Service] program jumped in to protect smaller regional routes.

Standard guidelines from the US Department of Transportation dictate that a community located within 175 miles of a major hub must average 10 daily passengers and keep subsidies under $650 per passenger.

Jonesboro doesn’t technically qualify, with a population of nearly 80,000, sitting 82 miles away from Memphis International Airport, and massively exceeding the subsidy cap.

So, what gives?

Well, because Jonesboro had active commercial air service prior to 1978, it was effectively pushed into the program, despite not technically qualifying.

This is under the condition that continuous services are maintained.

If any flights are cancelled, the city could lose its funding as its eligibility would be lost.

“Essential Air Service isn’t necessarily about which communities today need air service the most,” Philips explained.

“In many cases, it’s about which communities happened to have airline service when the industry was deregulated back in ’78.”

Understandably, local officials want to keep the EAS funding intact, as the tiny airport attracts businesses, connects regional healthcare networks, and bolsters Arkansas State University.

In the comments section, several viewers offered up alternatives.

“Simple fix would be to offer a free shuttle service to Memphis airport twice per day,” one viewer wrote.

“Jonesboro really should have a decent train connection to Memphis instead of this air service,” another suggested.