Jan. 22—OGDENSBURG — The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a "hold-in order" to prohibit SkyWest's termination of Essential Air Service temporarily in Ogdensburg and Plattsburgh.
SkyWest will now be required to continue the current level of service until the conclusion of the EAS selection of a new carrier.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D- N.Y., made the announcement of the order Friday.
Earlier this month, SkyWest announced it would cease EAS operations at the Ogdensburg International Airport and the Plattsburgh International Airport by mid-April.
SkyWest issued a statement last week saying staffing challenges generated by a surge in COVID-19 cases as the reason for departing Ogdensburg.
"As a result of these challenges, we expect to discontinue United Express service at Ogdensburg this spring," the statement reads. "We are working to minimize the impact to customers and our people. SkyWest ground staff at Ogdensburg will be offered various options, including transfer opportunities within the company."
Sen. Schumer's office issued a press release Friday saying he sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urging him to issue a hold order.
"I request that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) work swiftly to identify a new carrier to provide Essential Air Services to Ogdensburg and Plattsburgh, New York, to issue a Hold-In Order prohibiting SkyWest from terminating service at either airport until a new air carrier begins full EAS, and to meet with the airports regarding this matter," Sen. Schumer wrote.
Flight service at the Ogdensburg airport is expected to remain the same.
The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority in a prepared statement last week said that it was given a 90-day notice on Jan. 11, that the airline was going to cease service.
"SkyWest is required to remain until a new service is in place at OGS," the OBPA said. "In the interim, the current SkyWest flight schedule remains the same."
SkyWest currently flies 12 times per week from Ogdensburg to Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The airport has suffered a series of setbacks since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Allegiant Air, the airport's low-cost carrier, which had been flying direct to destinations in Florida since 2016 pulled out of the airport in October 2020.
In March 2021, SkyWest received permission from The DOT to stop providing flights to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, which it had been providing for two years.
"Cutting back Essential Air Service to the Ogdensburg and Plattsburgh airports is the wrong way to go for Northern New York. I am glad that USDOT has heeded my call to issue a Hold-In Order to temporarily maintain service while they swiftly work with local stakeholders to identify a new carrier to provide EAS to the Plattsburgh & Ogdensburg International Airports," Sen. Schumer said in a prepared statement.
The next step must be taken by the DOT, OBPA Executive Director Steven J. Lawrence said last week.
"I would say in the near future we expect to see the RFP released by the USDOT," Mr. Lawrence said. "I think ( Sen. Schumer's) quick response so soon after he heard the news will help minimize any disruption to air service in Ogdensburg."
The EAS program was developed after the airline industry was deregulated in 1978. The EAS program was put into place to guarantee air service to underserved communities. EAS subsidizes commuter airlines across the country to serve approximately 140 rural communities, including six communities in upstate New York: Watertown, Jamestown, Massena, Ogdensburg, Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/ Lake Placid.
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