Article originally posted to the Lexington Herald-Leader Web site http://www.kentucky.com/2012/05/26/2201975/consultant-pikeville-could-host.html#storylink=misearch
The Associated Press
Talks are ongoing with two regional airlines to provide daily service in and out of Pikeville-Pike County Regional Airport and flights could start in 2013, the Pikeville city manager and an aviation consultant said.
The consultant, Luke Schmidt, said the airlines could connect with commercial hubs in Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Detroit.
Schmidt said a key milestone in the long-term effort to get commercial air service for Eastern Kentucky was the awarding of a federal $750,000 small community air service development grant to the Pikeville Airport last year. The grant is being administered by the U. S. Department of Transportation.
“This is a competitive grant,” Schmidt said. “Pikeville competed with 68 other airports, and Pikeville was the smallest of the 68.”
City Manager Donavan Blackburn told The Appalachian News-Express ( http://bit.ly/Js2XmU) that $100,000 of the grant will be used for marketing with the rest subsidizing an airline that provides service.
Blackburn said the airline is expected to operate at a loss for at least two years.
The 5,300-foot runway at Pikeville Airport can handle a turbo prop aircraft capable of carrying 19 to 37 passengers with a crew of three, Schmidt said. He said the region to be served would include 13 counties, of which nine are in eastern Kentucky, three are in southwest Virginia and one is in West Virginia.
The 5,300-foot runway at Pikeville Airport can handle a turbo prop aircraft capable of carrying 19 to 37 passengers with a crew of three, Schmidt said. He said the region to be served would include 13 counties, of which nine are in eastern Kentucky, three are in southwest Virginia and one is in West Virginia.
This region is currently served by four commercial airports: Lexington, Huntington-Ashland, Charleston and Tri-Cities. Each of the 13 counties is closer to Pikeville Airport than to any of those airports, Schmidt said.
Schmidt said work is currently being done to complete a letter of commitment, which he anticipates would be submitted sometime this fall, with commercial air service becoming available in and out of Pikeville Airport nine to 12 months thereafter.
Blackburn said the airport does not have a fire station. The requirement for fire protection would be met by having a Pikeville City fire truck and crew of firefighters arrive at the airport one-half hour before a scheduled aircraft arrival and remain until one-half hour after the plane’s departure.
Schmidt and Blackburn said some modification might be required to the general aviation terminal that now serves the airport. They said that space might have to be provided for screening passengers before boarding.
Schmidt said the 13-county region that would be served by commercial air service in and out of Pikeville Airport has a population of 445,000, is a major energy region and has a total of $5 billion in bank deposits.
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