Programs › 20.901
Assistance listing · 20.901
Payments for Essential Air Services
Federal financial assistance obligated under listing 20.901, the organisations that receive it and where it goes.
USAspending caveat. Figures are obligations reported by federal agencies to USAspending.gov, not payments. In USAspending's words: "An outlay occurs when federal money is actually paid out, not just promised to be paid ('obligated')." "Every agency has a Senior Accountable Official who must officially certify that the quarterly financial data submitted by their agency is accurate and complete." "If there are any discrepancies in procurement data, FPDS is the authoritative source." Contract data for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is published with a 90-day delay. Data loaded 30 Sep 2026.
Federal agencies obligated $626M in awards under assistance listing 20.901, Payments for Essential Air Services, in FY2026, and $2.3B over the five fiscal years since FY2023; the program ranks 164 of 1043 on this site.
Obligations were about level on FY2025 ($626M), with $0 so far in FY2027.
The largest recipient organisations over FY2022–FY2025 were Skywest Airlines Inc ($729M), Key Lime Air Corporation ($198M) and Hyannis Air Service Inc ($180M).
By place of performance, the most money went to MI, AK and NE.
Obligations by fiscal year
Compared with the largest program FY2026
| Measure | This program | Grants to States for Medicaid | All assistance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obligations, FY2026 | $626M | $723B | $4.4T |
| Five-year total | $2.3B | $2.6T | $17T |
| Share of all assistance obligations, five years | 0% | 15.2% | 100% |
Largest recipients obligations, FY2022–FY2025
| # | Organisation | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skywest Airlines Inc | $729M |
| 2 | Key Lime Air Corporation | $198M |
| 3 | Hyannis Air Service Inc | $180M |
| 4 | Southern Airways Express LLC | $179M |
| 5 | Corporate Flight Management, Inc. | $134M |
| 6 | American Airlines, Inc | $63M |
| 7 | Alaska Airlines, Inc. | $60M |
| 8 | Boutique Air, Inc. | $54M |
| 9 | Advanced Air LLC | $44M |
| 10 | United Airlines, Inc. | $39M |
| 11 | Grant Aviation, Inc | $37M |
| 12 | Tupelo Airport Authority | $18M |
| 13 | City of Page | $17M |
| 14 | New Pacific Airlines, Inc. | $17M |
| 15 | County of Clinton | $16M |
| 16 | Border Coast Regional Airport Authority | $15M |
| 17 | Blair County Airport Authority | $15M |
| 18 | Macon-Bibb County | $15M |
| 19 | Northwest Alabama Regional Airport | $14M |
| 20 | City of Vernal | $14M |
| 21 | County of Grand | $13M |
| 22 | Sun Country, Inc. | $13M |
| 23 | Skywest Airlines | $13M |
| 24 | City of Greenville | $12M |
| 25 | Jetblue Airways Corporation | $11M |
Where the money goes
Other programs numbered 20.xxx
- 20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $207B
- 20.507 Federal Transit Formula Grants $34B
- 20.106 Airport Improvement Program, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Programs, and COVID-19 Airports Programs $23B
- 20.326 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail $18B
- 20.525 State of Good Repair Grants Program $16B
- 20.500 Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants $14B
- 20.279 National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) $13B
- 20.287 Surface Transportation Block Grant Program $11B
- 20.526 Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, and Low or No Emissions Programs $7.3B
- 20.263 Bridge Formula Program $5.1B
- 20.509 Formula Grants for Rural Areas and Tribal Transit Program $4.5B
- 20.934 Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects $4.0B
- 20.933 National Infrastructure Investments $3.7B
- 20.116 Airport Improvement Program $2.4B
- 20.272 Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) $2.4B
- 20.117 Airport Infrastructure Grants $2.3B
- 20.218 Motor Carrier Safety Assistance $1.9B
- 20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $1.8B
- 20.264 Bridge Investment Program $1.7B
- 20.325 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements $1.7B
- 20.513 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities $1.7B
- 20.340 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program $1.7B
- 20.337 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program $1.6B
- 20.271 Emergency Relief (ER) Program $1.6B
Questions and answers
How much is obligated under assistance listing 20.901?
$626M in FY2026 and $2.3B over the five fiscal years since FY2023, counting every award type recorded under the listing (grants, direct payments, loan subsidy cost, insurance and other assistance). Obligations are commitments, not payments.
Who receives the most under Payments for Essential Air Services?
Skywest Airlines Inc ($729M), Key Lime Air Corporation ($198M), Hyannis Air Service Inc ($180M), Southern Airways Express LLC ($179M), Corporate Flight Management, Inc. ($134M). Individuals are never listed; where a program pays individuals, USAspending records aggregated rows that appear here as "not shown".
What is an assistance listing (CFDA) number?
A five-digit number that identifies a federal financial assistance program on SAM.gov (formerly the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance). Every grant, loan, direct payment or other assistance award on USAspending carries one; contracts do not.
Provenance
Source: USAspending.gov API v2, spending by category (assistance listing) by fiscal year, recipient cross-tabulation for FY2022–FY2025 and award search, loaded 30 Sep 2026. State figures come from each state's top-100 listing table, so small amounts in a state may be missing. See methodology.