The federal government issued an emergency order on Friday, Nov. 7 requiring Grant Aviation to cut 10% of its flights between Kenai and Anchorage by Nov. 14. The order doesn’t impact any other routes at this time, but it comes only days after Kenai Aviation owner Joel Caldwell announced the company is ceasing operations due to debt, leaving only Grant Aviation and Aleutian Airways to service the Kenai Municipal Airport.
Grant Aviation said the FAA has directed the airline to immediately reduce 4% of all flights and gradually increase to the 10% reduction by Nov. 14.
“We did everything that we possibly could to convince the FAA to not include our route between Anchorage and Kenai in the reduction,” said Dan Knesek, Grant Aviation’s vice president of commercial operations, on Monday. “Unfortunately, we failed in that endeavor, and therefore we had to start to do the reductions per the FAA emergency order.”
Grant Aviation will contact anyone whose travel plans will be disrupted by the order. Representatives at the airline will call, text or email passengers to issue refunds or assist in rebooking canceled flights. Anyone with additional questions or concerns regarding the emergency order is encouraged to email the Federal Aviation Administration at 9-AAL-FAASI@faa.gov.
Knesek acknowledged the emergency order feels like a “double whammy” to the Kenai community when coupled with the news of Kenai Aviation’s closure last Monday. Despite sending aircraft to Western Alaska to provide supplies in the aftermath of the devastating ex-typhoon Halong, Grant Aviation was already starting to look at expanding their coverage to compensate for the loss of Kenai Aviation.
“The one thing I do want to let the Kenai Peninsula know is that we will make sure that we are there for the community,” Knesek said. “We will have the aircraft available to be able to handle the capacity that the community needs year-round.”
Even if the government shutdown ends this week, it could take up to a week for airlines to resume operating at full capacity. The FAA has not yet rescinded its emergency order mandating air traffic cuts, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last Friday that the agency won’t lift the order until safety data indicates that it’s safe to do so.
