You know flyover country .That's the place where "bitter clingers" and "deplorables" and "ultra-MAGAs" live . You "fly over " these red areas on your way to the megalopolis on either coast .

In the mid-20th century the nations rail system began to bypass small towns and not so small towns in the heartlands . The railroads had been the major form of transportation and really the heart of small town life . Commerce was conducted ;tourism came ,farmers sold and moved their product and received their supplies ;professionals located near the rail stations .They could live in these small towns and thrive all because of access to transportation the rails provided .

Roads came bypassing these small towns . People exited . They moved to where the jobs were moving ;concentrating in big cities and the interstate exits in the city's suburbia .

Air traffic came to small local airports to relieve the traffic of the major airline hubs. There was small town revival as businesses began to locate near these small airports .People could move to these small towns again.

But now we are seeing a repeat of what happened 50+ years ago.

Now we are told there are not enough pilots to service these towns

American Airlines is ending service in and out of four U.S. cities due to the ongoing pilot shortage. The cities affected are: Dubuque, Iowa; Islip, New York; Ithaca, New York; and Toledo, Ohio. In a statement, American Airlines said, “We want to fly but can’t due to the lack of regional pilots.” American hopes the move will allow it to be more reliable on its remaining flights.

American Airlines To Stop Flying To These Four U.S. Cities In September - TravelAwaits


Thirty airports in the continental U.S. have lost at least half the departures they had in 2019, according to an analysis of schedule data by Airline Data Inc.

Want to Fly This Summer? Good Luck Traveling to a Small City - WSJ

In some areas of "flyover country " the alternative is a 3 hour or more drive to major airports .To survive and grow, small markets need more service than they have today....not less .
The alternative is that small/rural markets will continue to struggle when it comes to attracting development opportunities .

The populist movement that led to Trump's ascendency began when the elites in the major cities ignored the concerns of the "bitter clingers" and "deplorables" and "ultra-MAGAs".