Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is renewing New Mexico Airlines’ (Pacific Wings) contract to provide air service to Carlsbad.

Under the agreement, New Mexico Airlines will continue to provide two round trips each weekday and each weekend to Albuquerque International Sunport under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program for an annual subsidy rate of $1.04 million.  The contract is for two years beginning on June 1.

“Commercial air service is vital to Carlsbad’s and Eddy County’s economic future and I am pleased to learn that the region will continue to have this important service,” Bingaman said. 

Earlier this year New Mexico Airlines provided notice to the DOT that it will continue to provide air service to Hobbs on a subsidy-free basis at the end of the current contract, May 31, 2009.

Congress established the Essential Air Service Program in 1978 to ensure that communities that had commercial air service before deregulation continue to receive scheduled service.   Without EAS, many rural communities would have no commercial air service at all.  New Mexico has a total of 4 EAS communities: Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Clovis, and Silver City.