Greenville Mid-Delta Airport (KGLH) loses service

There's a gaping hole in commercial air service in the Delta that likely wlll not close until at least mid-November.

Silver Airways' last flight out of Greenville Mid-Delta Airport was Sept. 30, the expiration date of a two-year contract the airline had with four Mississippi cities.

Those cities – Tupelo, Hattiesburg and Meridian– recently received an extension of service via FAA order through Oct. 5, one that will likely rollover until a new carrier enters those markets.

Greenville was left in the dark because its passenger count had fallen to the point it was depending almost solely on federal Essential Air Service grants to keep Florida-based Silver's planes in the air. The grants are designed to ensure small markets are served by certified carriers To remain eligible for EAS, an airport must average a minimum of 10 enplanements per day.

"And we were putting two and three people on a 34-seat plane," said Lane Rodgers, Mid-Delta's interim director. Those numbers weren't favorable for an airport with two daily flights to Atlanta, Silver's hub.

Oregon-headquartered SeaPort Airlines will eventually pick up service in Greenville, thanks to an EAS eligibility waiver the U.S. Department of Transportation issued Greenville last month. That agency still has to confirm SeaPort.

"It's all speculation, and if you would have asked me last week, I would have expected that to happen Nov. 1," Rodgers said. "Now I don't see it happening until mid-November." SeaPort will offer 18 flights per week to Atlanta once it starts operation, Rodgers said.

Until then, commercial air options for those in Greenville are Jackson, Memphis and Little Rock. (Tunica offers flights to Atlanta chartered by Harrah's Casino.)

"It's mass confusion," Rodgers said of the reaction to the shutdown. "People had flights booked for October and November and they're calling and asking us what they should do. I don't know what to tell them."

Messages left with Greenville mayor John Cox and Silver Airways were not immediately returned Friday.

- Source:  http://www.clarionledger.com