City delays airline service

The city of Klamath Falls is delaying the start date of incoming PenAir, pushing the first flights with the airline back to at least Jan. 1, 2016, as it waits for a response by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for passenger screening service.

City officials and staff should know within 30 days if TSA will return screening services and personnel to the Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport. The city previously announced in late July that air service would start in November.

Linda Tepper, business manager for the airport, is hopeful that TSA will return to the airport to provide screening services, which are mandatory to operate the airline. Screening services for the purposes of safety and security at Klamath Falls’ airport, in some form or another, date back to the 1940s, when the airport first offered flights.

Most recently, Tepper said TSA employed about eight people at the airport, who collectively provided screening services for passengers and baggage.

“There’s been some form of screening for ages,” Tepper said.

“We’ve had it before, we expect to have it again. Unfortunately we’re just fighting a very slow process.”

There is a financial aspect connected to the timing of TSA’s arrival in Klamath Falls.

If the city’s airport is able to fill 10,000 seats on PenAir flights in 2016, Airport Director John Barsalou said the airport will be eligible for $1 million in grant funds from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by 2018. Until that time, the city is only eligible for $150,000 in FAA funds for capital improvements.


“The longer the start date is delayed, the more difficult it will be to reach 10,000 enplanements for the year,” Barsalou said. “We’ll be looking at opportunities for grant funding regardless of the enplanements.”

“We’re very aware that the community has been eagerly awaiting the date when they can begin purchasing tickets to fly out of Klamath Falls,” said City Manager Nathan Cherpeski, in a news release. “We were hopeful that service would start before the holiday season but it seems unlikely that the TSA will have screening services in place that quickly.”

Kristin Folmar, vice president and director of PenAir sales and marketing, and Missy Roberts, vice president of sales and marketing, visited Klamath Falls Monday to learn more about the Klamath Basin’s air service needs.

PenAir officials said they are eager to market air service as soon as TSA determines if and when it can provide passenger screening.

“While the delay may be frustrating to those who are eager to see service start as soon as possible, we have to understand that there are a lot of pieces that have to fall into place before service can start and some items, such as passenger screening, are beyond our local control,” Barsalou said.

Source:  http://www.heraldandnews.com