In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, airlines have planned to temporarily cut six United Express flights at the Eugene Airport, to run from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31.
Four other daily flights at the airport were canceled last week.
Airport manager Bob Noble discussed the canceled flights with members of the Eugene Airport Advisory Committee during a regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 19. The flights cut last week were a United Airlines flight to San Francisco, two Horizon flights to Portland and one Horizon flight to Seattle; the flights canceled for October are all to Seattle. The airport averages 37 commercial flights per day.
The full impact of tightened security restrictions by the Federal Aviation Administration will not be known for some time, Noble said, but could include new legislation introduced last week in Congress.
Three members of the House Subcommittee on Aviation sponsored a bill that focuses on improving screening methods. The sponsors include U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Eugene, who said the bill will impact consumers.
“Some of the convenience (of air travel) is going away,” DeFazio said. “E-tickets are probably not going to be there anymore.”
The legislation would, however, expand the Federal Air Marshal program, make airport security screeners federal employees, and limit all airline passengers to one carry-on bag.
DeFazio said the legislation will be the first step in a long process of change for the airline industry.
“We need to make sure there is no repeat in aviation history of these types of events,” he said. “It will take time, money, effort and patience.”
The Federal Air Marshal program allows plainclothes police — who carry firearms with special bullets — to ride the airlines to ensure secure measures. The legislation would increase the number of air marshals in the sky, but DeFazio said the exact number is not yet known.
Having the federal government hire security screeners as federal employees would enable airlines to remove the workers from their payrolls.
Noble said that security screeners at the Eugene Airport are paid by United Airlines because the airline is the major carrier for the airport.
A $3 surcharge would be added to tickets to pay for the security improvements.
“If surcharges are added to tickets, then there might be fewer passengers,” Noble said. “If there’s curtailment (of flights), then airlines retract to the hubs, and we’re the losers.”
Future developments at the Eugene airport, including a new runway that was to be added this year, may also be in limbo. Money set to be used for improvements may now be used to pay for the additional measures required by the FAA or toward the $15 billion bailout for the airlines approved by President Bush Saturday.
“Those doubled entitlement funds that could be redirected could affect the new runway,” said Bob Brew, the airport’s budget manager.
Other projects that could be affected include moving the air cargo area and adding a lighting system for runways.
Noble said passengers should confirm their flights with the airlines before departure.