The Interior Department manages more than 418 million acres of land, mostly in the western reaches of the country. Overseas territories also fall under the department’s purview.
Whoever heads the Interior Department must travel thousands of miles often to remote parts of the country inaccessible by commercial aircraft. The secretary is nearly always accompanied personal staff or other federal officials or members of Congress on these trips.
Non-commercial flights are approved when “no commercial service is reasonably available to meet the scheduling or operational needs” and “the actual cost of charter aircraft is not more than commercial service,” according to agency approval forms submitted to Congress.
In total, the Obama administration officials spent $971,643 on non-commercial flights. That includes $294,042 aircraft owned by the Interior Department and its associated agencies.