SkyWest to continue service in Alpena
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ALPENA -- Alpena is not on the list of airports SkyWest Airlines wants to discontinue service at.
The Airline expressed its intent to discontinue service in 29 cities around the United States due to a pilot shortage, but the U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday barred it from doing so until replacement carriers are found. SkyWest receives federal funding subsidies to provide air service to smaller communities.
The Transportation Department said SkyWest cannot terminate service through July 8 and for additional 30-day periods in case officials do not find another air carrier to provide service.
Alpena is not one of the routes that will be impacted, Alpena County Regional Airport Manager Steve Smigelski said, but airports in Muskegon and Houghton are among the cities that the airline is finding it difficult to continue servicing.
Airlines around the country have struggled to fully staff planes and flights have been canceled around the globe for months.
Smigelski said SkyWest is pleased with the relationship it has in Alpena and with the number of people using the service. Enplanements have been climbing for the last year and the new terminal at the airport also helps the airplane by making the boarding and unboarding of passengers more efficient.
SkyWest has serviced Alpena for about a decade after Delta Airlines parted ways with the county.
"They are good to us and we are good to them," Smigelski said.
Still, the move raises eyebrows as the airport's contract with SkyWest nears its expiration. Smigelski said the Federal Aviation Administration will begin the process of putting bid packages together to seek bidders for the Alpena air service contract in the coming months and he is hopeful SkyWest will bid again.
"They have not indicated to us that they aren't going to bid."
SkyWest provides regional service for larger airlines like United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta, and American Airlines.
SkyWest provides Alpena non-stop flights to and from Detroit.