Appalachian Air (Pikeville) is to suspend operations next month citing a lack of demand and President Barack Obama's economic policies. The carrier only commenced operations in November last year.

“The failure of Appalachian Air to gain traction in the marketplace is yet another result of President Obama’s 'War on Coal',” Luke B. Schmidt, President, L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC, said. “Appalachian Air provided superior service to Pike County Regional Airport and never cancelled a flight due to aircraft availability or mechanical issues, and, only had two weather-related cancellations. However, during the run up to the service launch in 2014 and continuing into 2015, the region lost nearly 12,000 high-paying coal mining jobs, which has had a huge impact up and down the line in the local economy."

Though marketed by Public Charters (P1, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International), the virtual carrier had chartered a Jetstream 32 from Corporate Flight Management (Smyrna) for use on its flights from Pikeville to Nashville International. The service was supported from the outset with federal and state Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG) payments which were designed to serve as a bridge to get the route to a sustainable position.