Airport again gets help in bid for federal grant

If a letter of support from Delta Air Lines doesn't persuade the U.S. Department of Transportation that a $1 million grant is a sound investment in the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, we would have to conclude that getting the biggest bang for the public buck is no longer important to some bureaucrats in Washington.
Given that the federal government has invested many millions of dollars in the airport -- the last major project carried a price tag of $40 million -- you would think that approval of the $1 million grant application would be a mere formality. But you'd be wrong, considering the Department of Transportation's decision last year not to accept the Western Reserve Port Authority's bid for the money -- even with Delta's endorsement.
No public reason was given for the rejection, but it would appear that the decision-makers wanted to sprinkle the $20 million throughout the country. Thus in Ohio, only the Akron-Canton Regional Airport was successful. It received $950,000 under the Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program. The Department of Transportation had received 179 applications nationally.
This year, 180 airports have applied for one of the 40 grants expected to be awarded, including three other Ohio facilities.
However, the letter from Delta should give the Youngstown-Warren airport an advantage since it would mean the resumption of commercial air travel. The Valley has been without regularly scheduled commercial flights since last September when Northwest Airlines discontinued service to Detroit. That action came about a year after US Airways Express stopped flights between Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Local officials, including members of the port authority and commissioners from Trumbull and Mahoning counties, have made the resumption of commercial travel a priority.
Success story
They point to the success of the Akron-Canton airport in providing service to New York and contend that passenger loads would increase if there were a way to get Valley residents to destinations such as Orlando or Las Vegas.
With Delta, access to the airlines' hub in Cincinnati, from which connections are available to Las Vegas, as an example, could persuade travelers to use the Youngstown-Warren airport as opposed to driving to Cleveland or Pittsburgh.
As Steve Bowser, interim aviation director, said recently, "We're not looking for a home run. A bunt single would be great."
But the reality is that Delta will not come unless it can count on financial support from the port authority. The Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program permits grants to be used to make direct payments to airlines for adding service and to market the airport. The money can also be used to pay for some airport operations.
If the Valley is successful, the $1 million would be matched dollar-for-dollar over three years between contributions from Trumbull and Mahoning counties, which annually provide operating funds for the airport, and advertising discounts from local TV stations.
Since the goal of the federal program is to assist smaller airports improve air service and help them recovery from the financial beating they took after the terrorist attacks on America's mainland on Sept. 11, 2001, we believe the Valley's regional facility is the ideal candidate for assistance from Washington.
Last year's decision not to approve the grant application remains a mystery. This year, the federal government will have to strain to come up with an explanation for why the Valley again did not make the cut.