Arkansas cities hope to get new air service.(TRANSPORTATION)

Four Arkansas cities that have been without air service for more than a year have received news that their status may be changing.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says it has received proposals from several different air carriers interested in providing service to the Boone County Regional Airport at Harrison, according to KSPR, a Springfield, Mo., television station.

And the Jonesboro Sun said representatives of one of the airline carriers bidding for the services visited Jonesboro last Wednesday.

The four cities--Harrison, Jonesboro, Hot Springs and El Dorado--are served by Essential Air Service, a federal government program that subsidizes smaller carriers so they can provide a minimal level of scheduled air service to smaller communities that otherwise would not be profitable. The program was created in 1978 after the deregulation of the airline industry, which allowed airline carriers to drop unprofitable routes to and from small cities.

Currently, only four other airports in the state have commercial service: Little Rock, Northwest Arkansas, Fort Smith and Texarkana.

Mesa Air Group shut down its Air Midwest subsidiary early last year, leaving the four airports without commercial passenger service.

The following carriers have submitted proposals to the Department of Transportation, as reported by KSPR: Air Choice One, Mesaba Airlines, SeaPort Airlines, Sovereign Air and TransportAzumah.

The Transportation Department will accept comments and suggestions until June 12, the TV station reported. A decision is expected by late June or early July, and the winning airline would start flights about 90 days after that.

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