"Essential Air Service: Fate of Maine airport uncertain"

Thursday, April 3, 2003

Fate of airport uncertain
By Carrie Ciciotte
The Bar Harbor (ME) Times

 
TRENTON - Members of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce and legislators are
scurrying in an attempt to stall the Bush administration's proposed cuts to
the Essential Air Service programs - cuts that could cause the Hancock
County Airport to lose half of its commercial airport services. 
 
The proposed reductions would affect Colgan Air, which flies into the
Trenton airport. Two of Colgan's four daily flights receive federal subsidy
funding totaling approximately $1.5 million annually. According to Dave
Lackey, a spokesman for Senator Olympia Snowe, without that subsidy the
airline would not be flying into Hancock County. 

At a March 26 meeting of Bar Harbor business owners and representatives of
Friends of Acadia, airport manager Bob Cossette reported that it is not
likely that Colgan will be able to continue service to Bar Harbor without a
subsidy.

"I've asked them the question, and they said they said they could not
survive," he told the Bar Harbor Times yesterday.

The current subsidy to four Maine airports - Bar Harbor, Presque Isle,
Augusta and Rockland - totals $6,989,000. The proposed Bush administration's
budget calls for reductions of 65 percent or more to the nationwide EAS
budget.

The plan could call for reducing the EAS subsidy to Colgan Air from
$1,507,000 to $527,450. The cuts would have a dire effect, Mr. Cossette
said. The airport sees 25,000 to 26,000 commercial passengers a year. 

"I can imagine that we would probably lose all of our scheduled airline
service," he said.

Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce Director Clare Bingham agreed. 

"The Bar Harbor Airport is our only direct connection to Boston's Logan
Airport and therefore our only direct connection into the national and
international airline system. As you are aware, tourism is a major part of
our economy and, of course, being easily accessible by air is critical to
tourism," she said. "But even more importantly, the businesses of Hancock
County depend on the commercial airline service at the Bar Harbor Airport to
enable them to be competitive with businesses that are located in larger
population centers. These funding reductions could result in 50 percent of
commercial air service leaving the state. This will create a huge increase
in time and money for local businesses that depend on this service. This
will make rural business less competitive and will put them at risk."

"What would the loss of the airline mean to the airport in terms of the
revenue? I would 'guestimate' that we would probably lose half of our
airport revenue," Mr. Cossette said. "Right now, the airport pays its own
way. That makes life a little easier for us. A portion of the remaining
subsidy would have to be made up by the airport sponsors. And there will be
spin-off problems."

At the Bar Harbor Town Council meeting on April 1, Councilor Val Scott
expressed concern about the possible cuts. 

"Cuts to that budget could significantly impact the airport, and it could
require towns to come up with matching funds to subsidize the service," she
said. 

Town Manager Dana Reed said that since the airport is owned by the county,
it might fall to the county to subsidize the airport. 

According to Ms. Bingham, businesses and towns in rural areas already face a
unique disadvantage.

"Because of their isolated location, being long driving distances from large
population centers, it is often very difficult to attract business and labor
to the area. Taking away our direct connection to a major hub will make us
even more inaccessible and therefore unattractive to anyone thinking of
relocating to Hancock County," she said. "Bar Harbor also has the unique
situation of being located on an island, with only one road on and off.
Additionally, we have only one traffic corridor that connects us to Bangor
and to the airport we would be shifted to if this reduction occurs. That
road is already stressed with traffic concerns. Losing the commercial air
service in Bar Harbor would force everyone on to that already busy traffic
corridor to access an airport.

"Asking small, rural communities to come up with the subsidy amount is just
not reasonable. Small, rural communities simply do not have those kinds of
funds. Any reductions in subsidies will result in losing commercial air
service to rural states. This would be devastating to rural communities
across the nation."

According to Mr. Lackey, the plan is set to go before the Senate's
Appropriations Committee. 

"Senator Snowe is a strong supporter (of the existing EAS plan)," he said.
The senator is opposed to cuts in the program.

The appropriations bills will be worked on in the beginning of May, and
should proceed throughout the spring. The process should be finished by
Sept. 20.


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