Payments for Small Community Air Service Development

The SCASDP program is designed to provide financial assistance to small communities, on a competitive basis, to help them enhance their air service. Grant monies are disbursed to grantees on a reimbursable basis.

To improve air service to underserved communities, including connectivity to the national air transportation system, consistent with statutory requirements and the Department's strategic goals.

The Small Community Program is authorized to receive appropriations under 49 U.S.C. § 41743(e)(2). Appropriations were provided for this program for award selection in FY 2023 pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. No. 117-328). The Department (DOT) made up to $12 million available for CY 2024 grant awards to carry out this program. When selecting applicants to participate in the Small Community Program, DOT is statutorily required to apply the following criteria for participation: 1. The airport serving the community or consortium is not larger than a small hub airport, as determined using the FAA's most recently published classification effective on DOT's set application deadline (due date). 2.The airport has insufficient air carrier service or unreasonably high airfares. 3.The airport presents characteristics, such as geographic diversity or unique circumstances, that demonstrate the need for, and feasibility of, the Small Community Program. 4. An applicant may not receive an additional grant to support the same project more than once in a 5-year period, except that, in certain circumstances provided under 49 U.S.C. § 41743(c)(4)(C), DOT may waive the same project limitation. 5. An applicant may not receive an additional grant, prior to the completion of its previous grant. Program Limits: No more than four (4) communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, from the same State may be selected to participate in the program in any fiscal year; and no more than forty (40) communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, may be selected to participate in the program in each year for which the funds are appropriated. Applications for renewal or supplemental of existing projects are not eligible to compete. Pursuant to the authorities described above, DOT made up to $12 million available for CY 2024 grant awards to carry out this program. There is no minimum or maximum individual award amount, and the amounts awarded will vary depending upon the features and merits of the selected applications. In past years, DOT's individual grant sizes have ranged from $20,000 to nearly $1.6 million. Funding amounts made available for reimbursement may be impacted by future limitations placed on the spending authority and appropriations enacted for DOT. The Department may, at its discretion, issue partial funding awards up to the level authorized and provided that the above conditions are met. Finally, as more fully discussed in Section E.1.a below, DOT intends to award CY 2024 grants for durations of three years to complete studies, four years for marketing and promotion (including advertising and public relations) of the airport, community, carrier, or destination, and five years for projects that target a revenue guarantee, subsidy, or other financial incentives. DOT is authorized to award grants to communities that seek to provide assistance to: A U.S. air carrier to subsidize service to and from an underserved airport for a period not to exceed 3 years, an underserved airport to obtain service to and from the underserved airport; and/or an underserved airport to implement such other measures as the Secretary, in consultation with such airport, considers appropriate to improve air service both in terms of the cost of such service to consumers and the availability of such service, including improving air service through marketing and promotion of air service and enhanced utilization of airport facilities. Consortium applications: Both individual communities and consortia of communities are eligible for SCASDP funds. An application from a consortium of communities must be one that seeks to facilitate the efforts of the communities working together toward one joint grant project, with one joint objective, including the establishment of one entity to ensure that the joint objective is accomplished. Concurrent Grant Limitation: A community or consortium may have only one SCASDP grant at any time. If a community or consortium applies for a subsequent SCASDP grant when its current grant has not yet expired, that community/consortium must notify DOT of its intent to terminate the current SCASDP grant, and if the community/consortium is selected for a new grant, such termination must take place prior to entering into the new grant agreement. Each beneficiary of a grant agreement under SCASDP is subject to this limitation; in other words, each airport or other government entity, including a state department of transportation, that receives a benefit from an active SCASDP grant, whether individually or part of a consortium, may not receive another SCASDP grant until the active grant is terminated. In addition, for consortium member applicants, permission must be granted from both the grant sponsor and DOT to withdraw from the current SCASDP grant before that consortium member will be deemed eligible to receive a subsequent SCASDP grant.

The legal sponsor of the proposed project must be a government entity. If the applicant is a public-private partnership, a public government member of the organization must be identified as the community's sponsor to receive project cost reimbursements. A community may designate only one government entity as the legal sponsor, even if it is applying as a consortium that consists of two or more local government entities. Private organizations may not be designated as the legal sponsor of a grant under the Small Community Program. The community has the responsibility to ensure that the recipient of any funding has the legal authority under state and local laws to carry out all aspects of the grant.

Grants for specified use, provided on a reimbursable basis. Grant funds can be used to cover a variety of expenses depending on the approved project. For example, grant funds may be used for financial incentives, including revenue guarantees to cover the air carrier's prospective operating loss while introducing new air service to a community, or to ground service providers in providing access to air transportation services. Funds can also be expended for marketing, advertising or promotional activities associated with new or existing air service or for studies designed to measure air service deficiencies at a community, or to measure traffic loss or diversion to other communities.

Grants for specified use, provided on a reimbursable basis. Grant funds can be used to cover a variety of expenses depending on the approved project. For example, grant funds may be used for financial incentives, including revenue guarantees to cover the air carrier's prospective operating loss while introducing new air service to a community, or to ground service providers in providing access to air transportation services. Funds can also be expended for marketing, advertising or promotional activities associated with new or existing air service or for studies designed to measure air service deficiencies at a community, or to measure traffic loss or diversion to other communities.

The period for awards will vary with the complexity of the project. Minimum grant duration is three years; the maximum duration is five years. (The statute limits use of grant funds for air carrier subsidy to a maximum period of three years, beginning when subsidized service commences.) Financial assistance is provided on a reimbursable basis; cash advances will not be made.

Pre-application coordination is not applicable.

There are two categories of selection criteria: Merit Criteria and Selection Considerations that support (1) the Merit Criteria and (2) Administration and Departmental priorities. Applications that meet one or more of the Merit Criteria will be viewed more favorably than those that do not meet any of the Merit Criteria. A full list of selection criteria can be found on the website: http://www.dot.gov/policy/aviation-policy/small-community-rural-air-service/SCASDP

Applications will be evaluated according to factors established in the NOFO and under the guidance of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. No. 106-181), most recently reauthorized by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Pub. L. No. 118-163).

For CY 2026, application dates are to be determined.

Can vary from year to year. However, the target is to award grants within 120 days from the established application deadline.

Application procedures are repeated each year. However, grant recipients are precluded by statute from seeking additional grants in support of the same project more than once in a five-year period unless the Department has waived this requirement. A community can only have one Small Community Program grant at any time. 49 U.S.C. Section 41743(c)(4).