Two U.S. Senators And Three Congressmen Want United Airlines To Continue Serving Easterwood And Fort Hood-Killeen Airports

Screen shot of a letter provided by the office of senator Ted Cruz.
Screen shot of a letter provided by the office of senator Ted Cruz.

There is an effort to keep United Airlines serving Easterwood and the Fort Hood-Killeen airports.

A letter was sent to United’s CEO from senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and congressmen Pete Sessions, Roger Williams, and John Carter.

The Republicans want answers to six questions by next Tuesday explaining how United reached its decision to discontinue service to 11 airports next month.

The delegation representing the airports reminded United was approved for up to $7.5 billion dollars in pandemic relief loans and another $11 billion in pandemic payroll support grants.

The elected officials say discontinuing service will impose direct harm on the increasing military presence at Texas A&M’s RELLIS campus and at Fort Hood.

Click HERE to read and download the letter, provided by the office of senator Ted Cruz.

News release from the office of senator Ted Cruz:

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Commerce Committee, and John Cornyn (R-Texas) this week sent a letter to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby in response to news that the company will be cutting service for airports in College Station and Killeen, Texas. In the letter, the lawmakers urge the company to resume flights to the area due to the vital role the cities play in American national security and Department of Defense partnerships as well as the growing economies of the communities. The lawmakers also criticize the company for cutting service to these cities and other American communities after taxpayers provided the company with billions of dollars in relief funds last year.

Co-signers of the letter in the U.S. House of Representatives include Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), John Carter (R-Texas), and Roger Williams (R-Texas).

In the letter, the members wrote:

“To address the devastating and unprecedented impact of COVID-19, including on your industry, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27, 2020. At roughly $2.2 trillion, this measure was the largest emergency relief measure in U.S. history. As part of CARES, Congress created the Payroll Support Program (PSP) to provide a lifeline to the aviation industry in the form of direct assistance to passenger air carriers as grants, loans, and loan guarantees.”

[…]

“All told, PSP ended up costing the American taxpayer nearly $54 billion, with United receiving almost one-fifth of that total ($10,902,445,494) in PSP grants. Additionally, United was approved for a U.S. government loan for up to $7,491,000,000, with at least $520,000,000 drawn to date. Despite the generosity of the American taxpayers to provide significant assistance to United when the outlook for your company was most dire, within months of the start of an economic recovery, United announced its intent to cut air service to 11 cities beginning in 2022, including College Station, Texas and Killeen, Texas.

“In 2020, your industry was making the case for the important role the passenger air carriers play in support of national security. In 2021, United appears poised to follow through on a decision that will impose direct harm on U.S. national security interests by suspending service to College Station and Killeen. Both cities are home to integral elements of U.S. national defense and national security infrastructure.”