Mesa Air Group is based in Phoenix. It said it is grounding its Air Midwest subsidiary, which will affect the cities it serves under the federal government's Essential Air Service program. That program subsidizes flights on routes that would otherwise be unprofitable.

The Air Midwest shutdown effects Joplin, Columbia and Kirksville in Missouri as well as Little Rock, Ark. It also affects cities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nebraska.