PENDLETON, Ore. — Commercial air service from Portland to Pendleton in on thin ice because the U.S. Department of Transportation plans to eliminate a subsidy to Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.
The agency determined that not enough passengers are using the service to warrant the subsidy. It has been subsidizing the Pendleton flights at $213 per passenger — $13 above the established cap.
Pendleton Airport Manager Steve Chrisman tells the East Oregonian newspaper that eliminating the subsidy would make it expensive and burdensome for airlines to operate out of the city.
The department is giving Pendleton and other U.S. communities at risk of losing the subsidy a chance to file an objection. The city took that step last week.
