Pueblo to Denver jet flights are back. Now city leaders are bracing for federal cuts, hope enough passengers board. ...Middle East

PUEBLO — City leaders are celebrating the start of what they hope will be more dependable air service to Denver despite potential federal cuts that could severely reduce or wipe out the program that subsidizes flights to rural airports.

Denver Air Connection launched 12 weekly roundtrip flights between Pueblo Memorial Airport and Denver International Airport on May 1 under a contract with the Department of Transportation. They are required to fly jet aircraft — either a 30-seat Dornier 328 or a 50-seat Embraer (ERJ-145) — and will earn a first-year subsidy of up to $6.5 million, according to the contract.

The cost is $59 one way for passengers. And parking is free — no matter how many days you leave your car at the Pueblo airport.

“We as a community need to support this airline,” said Greg Pedroza, Pueblo’s director of aviation. “We have to start with that.”

With a recently signed two-year contract for service, Pueblo might have some breathing room if the proposed 52% cut to the Essential Air Service, or EAS, program stays in the 2026 Trump “skinny budget” bill before Congress. No details have been provided about what EAS cuts it might target or how they would be implemented.

But the proposed $308 million cut could be just the beginning. Project 2025 calls for elimination of the EAS program, as did a Heritage Foundation analysis of the 2023 budget.

The program traditionally has had broad bipartisan support because it helps ensure passenger service at 177 rural or remote airports in the United States and Puerto Rico. The subsidies in 2024 were nearly $592 million, according to Department of Transportation documents.   

It has long helped southern Colorado communities maintain passenger flight service, beginning with Lamar.

Pueblo has been part of the program since 2001. Two other Colorado airports are served by the program: Cortez joined the program in the 1980s and currently has service to Denver and Phoenix; Alamosa began receiving subsidized flights to Denver in 1991, according to DOT records.

Pedroza said his goal is to increase the number of passengers boarding flights to reach the pre-pandemic level of about 12,000 a year, which could entice airlines to offer service even without a subsidy and make the airport eligible for federal grants for upgrades. 

“We are hopeful this turns out to be a long-term partnership,” he said. “We will do our best to keep them operating out of Pueblo.”

Having regular flights to Denver is an incentive for businesses considering locating in Pueblo and enhances the quality of life for residents, he said. Denver Air Connection has partnered with United, Delta and American airlines to make connections more seamless.

“You don’t have to drive more than two hours to DIA, we’ve got free parking, and you are minutes from home when you return from a trip,” he said, noting that the drive to DIA often takes longer because of weather and traffic conditions. 

What is Essential Air Service?

The subsidy program was authorized by Congress for 10 years after it passed the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which removed government controls on routes and fares. The idea was to ensure that rural areas that were far from major airports continued to get service at reasonable prices.

The Essential Air Service was reauthorized and then made permanent by Congress in 1996.

It has evolved over the years, and the list of eligible airports has changed. Subsidy caps have been enacted based on the distance to a major or hub airport.  

The program for Alaska, which has more than half the airports with subsidized flights, has its own set of rules. There are 65 airports or landing strips with subsidized flights in Alaska, where, as Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, pointed out in a recent Senate hearing, there are 230 communities not connected by roads.

Airlines that served those Alaska airports in 2024 received about $41.7 million in subsidies.

In October 1978, when the first list of potentially eligible airports was released, there were 12 in Colorado, including Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Aspen, but most did not get subsidized service. Lamar, in southeastern Colorado, was the first community to receive subsidized air service. It was serviced by Air Midwest, along with several other midwestern communities, from 1986 to 1991, according to DOT’s archived records.

Lamar, Cortez and Alamosa were served by Mesa Airlines in 1992-93, but then Alamosa was temporarily dropped. EAS service to Lamar was dropped by October 2001 — in the same report that shows Pueblo was added.

Various airlines, under contract with DOT, provided the services over the years. Great Lakes Airlines, with headquarters in Cheyenne and a hub in Denver, provided services to all three airports for about a decade. 

In 2022, Denver Air Connection won the DOT contract for service in Alamosa (San Luis Valley Regional Airport) and Cortez. 

The contract for Cortez Municipal Airport was renewed Oct. 1 for four years, airport director Jeremy Patton said. Alamosa’s current contract expires June 30, 2026.

Passengers can fly from Cortez to Phoenix or Denver aboard a nine-seat twin turboprop for fares of $109 to $229. Patton said the Denver Air service has been reliable and overall flights are about 80% full.

Flights between Alamosa and Denver are aboard a 50-seat jet aircraft and cost $99 to $169.

Getting Pueblo back on track 

Pueblo’s Pedroza said he’s glad to have jet service again after several years of flights aboard eight-seat turboprop planes that were susceptible to weather cancellations and delays. Without reliable service, he said, the passengers won’t show up.

Mayor Heather Graham said she wants to ensure that residents know the city has reliable air service again because that will help increase the number of passengers boarding planes. The airport has it’s own marketing budget and is working with the chamber on a campaign to get the word out, a city spokesman said.

At least 10,000 passengers a year must board planes at the airport to qualify for 100% of annual federal funding, Pedroza said. The airport is ready to go on a $5 million upgrade that would include installing restrooms for passengers who have cleared TSA security and improvements to the drop-off area.

The airport also is seeking a vendor to reopen the restaurant that closed as passengers dwindled.

Improved flight service will be a catalyst for continued growth in the industrial area surrounding the airport, including the nearby PuebloPlex project that is redeveloping the former Army Pueblo Depot, city leaders said. 

The airport, built in 1942 as a training base for Army B-17 pilots and crew — including actor Clark Gable, who served as a gunner — was turned over to the city in 1948. The city moved Pueblo Field from an area near downtown to the former military base in 1954.   

Four airlines bid on the contract for service in Pueblo, each offering at least two options. Some included service to Phoenix, Las Vegas or Albuquerque instead of Denver.

DOT asks local communities for input before it awards the contract, and Pueblo officials’ first choice was Breeze Airways’ bid to provide jet service to Phoenix and Las Vegas. Graham said she thought those flights aboard a 137-seat Airbus 320 might entice more people to fly from the local airport.

DOT’s selection of Denver Air was based on several criteria, including that the subsidy was substantially less than what Breeze requested, according to the decision on the contract.

Allegiant Air flew without a subsidy between Pueblo and Las Vegas from October 2010 to April 2012, but ended service because not enough passengers bought vacation packages that included rooms, shows and rental cars, according to a report in Pueblo Chieftain.

In February, Allegiant returned to the Colorado Springs Airport after a six-year hiatus. It offers flights to Phoenix, Orange County, California, and Tampa, Florida.

Denver Air was a “close second” choice for Pueblo, Pedroza said, noting that Pueblo at times has supported multiple destinations and airlines and he sees those days returning.

Jon Coleman, senior vice president for strategy for Denver Air Connection, said the pilot-owned and operated airline based in Englewood is excited to provide service to Pueblo and believes it has the potential to grow.

“We are very committed to being a partner with the airport and the community,” he said. “If the community was interested in Dallas or someplace else — we would look at what might be beneficial to the area.”

If demand is there, Denver Air can offer service that is not subsidized through the EAS program, he said. But he doubts the subsidies will disappear.

“The Essential Air Service is so important to remote communities, and the economic impact is such that it’s not going away,” he said in an April interview.

The proposed cut

The Regional Airline Association has urged Congress to protect EAS, writing in a Jan. 17 news release that the economic impact of passenger flight service at small airports offsets any potential cuts. The House Budget Committee’s estimate of $3 billion in savings over 10 years should be weighed against the $134 billion in economic impact, the release said.

The association calls EAS a “lifeline for small communities, ensuring connectivity and economic stability.”

The program, like many that offer subsidies, has been questioned over the years, and subsidies have been capped.

The Heritage Foundation’s budget blueprint for fiscal year 2023 called for the elimination of EAS, saying it “squanders federal funds on flights that are often empty: EAS flights typically are only half full, and planes on nearly one-third of the EAS routes are at least two-thirds empty. For example, the EAS provides subsidies to continue near-empty daily flights in and out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania — even though travelers have access to a major airport (Harrisburg) just 40 miles away. To remain on the dole, airports supported by the EAS must serve no more than an average of 10 passengers per day.”

It does not cite the source of those statistics.

The program also was targeted on page 631 in Project 2025: “Finally ending the program would free hundreds of pilots to serve larger markets with more passengers. A new Administration could reform regulations to encourage airports in lower-served areas of the nation.” 

President Trump’s 2026 budget proposal wouldn’t eliminate EAS — but it would cut 52% of the program budget.

Generally, the greater subsidy dollars have been targeted at airports or landing strips that are at least 175-200 miles from a major or hub airport. The airports in Cortez and Alamosa are closest to Albuquerque International Sunport, but the drive is more than 200 miles. 

Pueblo is more than 120 miles from DIA; the closer Colorado Springs Airport is not a hub for airlines.

The EAS came up May 14 at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation reviewing progress on the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Bill.

While the hearing focused primarily on aviation safety and the need for more air traffic controllers and equipment upgrades, several senators made pitches for upgrading equipment and maintaining routes to rural airports.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, spoke specifically in support of the EAS program that provides services to nine rural airports in his state — the most outside of Alaska.

“I don’t think you should have to live in a big city to get on an airplane,” he said. “I will continue to fight for this program.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, said EAS is a “lifeline” in his state and he doesn’t believe there should be any cuts. He asked the FAA administrators at the hearing to deliver his message to the DOT, which runs the program.

Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper talked about the importance of rural airports and improving the technology at them, but did not specifically address EAS during the hearing.

In a statement, he said: “Air service to our rural airports — including at Pueblo Memorial Airport — is not government waste. We’ll fight tooth and nail to protect funding for the Essential Air Service program to keep our Colorado communities and businesses connected.”

Graham, the Pueblo mayor, said it is unclear how or whether any cuts would impact Pueblo but noted that her office is staying in close contact with Colorado’s senators and Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd about the issue. Hurd’s 3rd Congressional District encompasses all three Colorado EAS airports.

Hurd’s office requested emailed questions but did not respond to them; Sen. Michael Bennet’s office did not respond to phone messages.

In Cortez, Patton said he expects changes to the EAS subsidies and grants offered under the Alternative EAS program because of rising costs and passenger numbers. 

“It was and still is a successful program, but careful review of funding allocations is essential,” he said in an email. “I would not be surprised if some communities that are less than 175 miles from a medium or large hub and do not maintain higher load factors be the first on the list of program audits. 

“The EAS program is far too integral to the transportation network to be completely removed, and realistically amounts to less than 0.01% of the federal budget, but it wouldn’t hurt to know what the cost to taxpayers is and what is included.”

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