Private plane charters for businesses and tourism are still a couple of the uses at the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport despite not have a commercial air carrier. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Despite not having a commercial air carrier, air services are still happening at the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport.

Brad Bentley, Chautauqua County public facilities director, said the normal course of business that has been happening at the airport for a number of years is still ongoing even without a commercial air carrier. He said businesses and tourist are still using the airport for private charters.

“For example, Cummins uses the airport to fly people in and out (of the area). They use it to bring management to the local area,” he said about Cummins officials visiting the area from their main headquarters in Columbus, Ind. “Cummins during the summer flies in a charter two to three times a week.”

Bentley said the National Comedy Center has increased tourism private charters to the airport. He said the people visiting the Chautauqua Institution increases the number of private charters during the summer months.

“We get calls every now and then for general aviation airport use,” he said. “We received an email from a team that is going to play the Jamestown Rebels in the playoffs about using the airport, and we’ve been communicating with them”

Bentley said Jamestown Aviation is the fixed-based operator at the airport. He said Jamestown Aviation leases the hanger from the county and then the business rents space to those who want to keep their plane at the airport. He said the hanger has planes that are both owned by local residents and people who are just visiting the area.

“We have some that are based in Jamestown and we have some from people who just come in for a day or two who may want hanger space or they can use the apron,” he said. “We have 33 planes based out of the hanger right now. For the most part we are pretty full. There is not a lot of space in the hangers.”

Bentley said Jamestown Aviation also offers airplane fixing and maintenance services, and sells fuel. The business also runs a flight school for people training for their aviation license.

“We have a lease agreement with (Jamestown Aviation) and the county works closely with the business,” he said.

FedEx also uses the airport if they have to send a package next day air, Bentley said. Also, the airport is the backup location for Starflight if they cannot land at the hospital during an emergency.

“A number of companies, if they need a part overnight, they will fly a part in on a private charter. We see that routinely. We had 170 flights in March, which is typically a slow month. During the summer, we get significantly more flights, with 170 flights being a good amount for one month,” he said. “The airport still has a use even without commercial service. It has benefits from an accessibility standpoint and a tourism standpoint. We are still looking to gain commercial service. It’s a revolving situation.”

In January 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation terminated the Essential Air Service, (EAS), agreement locally due to a lack of passengers. Shortly after, Southern Airways left the Chautauqua County Jamestown Airport because of the EAS funding cut.

In February, it was announced the federal government would not be re-establishing EAS program funding for the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport. The U.S. DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs cited the underwhelming performance record of commercial air carriers to the airport in recent years and the availability of commercial air service alternatives at public airports in Buffalo and Erie, Pa.

County and city leaders have been actively engaged in dialogue with airline and commercial aviation advocacy groups to consider alternate approaches and other options for restoration of passenger service to the Jamestown regional airport.

County officials last year had announced possibly working with Boutique Air, a commuter airline based in San Francisco, Calif., to re-establish commercial air service at the airport. Boutique Airways submitted a proposal to the U.S. DOT to provide air service to the airport under the EAS program, which provides essential funding for small airports.

The EAS program, which requires 10 passengers to fly each day, began after the deregulation of the airline industry in 1978. The program helps subsidize flights to smaller markets, such as Jamestown.

Southern Airways passenger counts fell to an average of four per day, far fewer than the requirement of 10. The county airport also had trouble meeting the EAS program requirement that subsidies be less than $200 per passenger, with subsidy-per-passenger numbers of $630, which ranked among the highest in the nation before the contract was terminated.