The U.S. Department of Transportation said it secured enough funding to keep the Essential Air Service program flying through Nov. 2.

The federal subsidy program that services more than 100 rural communities in the U.S., including 65 in Alaska, was expected to lapse as early as Sunday due to the ongoing federal shutdown.

The EAS program provides subsidies to regional and small air carriers to transport passengers and cargo to rural and remote villages that might otherwise be much more expensive.

In a Wednesday memo from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, USDOT stated that the airlines and communities must “continue to fulfill all of [their] obligations under the EAS contracts” until notified otherwise.

A prolonged shutdown may still cause the EAS program to lapse, the DOT memo stated

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