The Coos County Airport District filed an objection Thursday over termination of commercial air service between Southwest Oregon Regional Airport and Portland.

The district’s Washington, D.C., attorney, Jonathan Blank, wrote to the U.S. Department of Transportation that the Portland route is critical to the people who live in the North Bend-Coos Bay area.

“It talks about how our community is tied to Portland,” Airport Executive Director Gary LeTellier said. “It’s a link. It’s important.”

Horizon Air, of the Alaska Air group, filed the notice of intent with DOT in late June, a few days before the grand opening of a new $20 million terminal at the North Bend airport. It announced Horizon would no longer provide service at the airport after Oct. 11. Airport board members have stewed about it ever since, filing the letter to DOT on the final day of the response period.

Now, it’s up to the DOT to make a determination on whether those flights qualify for an essential air service designation. The government program was enacted to guarantee small communities, where flights would not be profitable, maintain a minimal level of commercial service.

“We’ve had some indication that the Department of Transportation wants to talk right away,” LeTellier said, during a meeting with Airport District Chairman Mike Lehman and Commissioner Joe Benetti on Thursday in LeTellier’s office.

“We’re hoping for either a delay or cancellation of Horizon’s application,” he said.

The airport district’s response letter contends the North Bend airport’s last essential air service determination required at least two nonstop or one-stop flights to Portland every day of the week. Horizon Air has been operating three nonstop round-trip flights between North Bend and Portland Sundays through Fridays and two nonstop flights on Saturdays, with an extra flight during summer months.

Horizon’s termination notice said that SkyWest Airlines’ service to San Francisco, which began June 7, would be sufficient to satisfy essential air service requirements.

The airport district disagrees.

“The district rejects Horizon Air’s assertion that the service to San Francisco meets North Bend’s essential air service determination, and it submits that service to Portland is the core element of that service,” the district’s letter states.

The district argues that nearly 38,000 passengers — more than 100 per day — boarded planes at the North Bend airport in 2007. Most were business travelers, who were using same-day, round-trip service to Portland. It was the destination airport for 17,932 passengers in 2007. It was a connection point for another 6,459 passengers who flew to Seattle, in contrast to just 1,468 passengers who flew to San Francisco.

And more, it is a 220-mile, one-way drive to Portland, and the closest commercial airport at Eugene is more than 110 miles away.

“Cutting off North Bend’s air service to Portland, therefore, will only serve to economically isolate the region,” the letter states.

The final argument in the letter is that SkyWest only decided to provide its southbound service after the DOT agreed to provide a $400,000 grant. One of the grant’s objectives was to introduce competitive air service, with the goal of lowering air fares.

Lehman said there are more than 100 smaller airports across the country now faced with cuts in service. Horizon Air’s decision isn’t unprecedented. Other airlines are downsizing and focusing on providing service to the larger, hub airports because of high fuel prices. Horizon is switching nationwide from smaller 37-seat airplanes to planes that hold 76 passengers.

Horizon stated this week it did not have enough of the larger aircraft, and so it had to exclude the North Bend airport.

Lehman said airport officials are exploring every option for providing new service to Portland, including asking SkyWest to fly north.

“They’re focused on their southbound service,” he said.

In the meantime, airport managers are hoping for more time or DOT to deny Horizon Air’s cut.

“This is really big,” Lehman said. “If they did this here, it’s going to have national impact.”

“Hopefully, this will stall it. Maybe,” Benetti said.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” LeTellier said.

(Staff Writer Jo Rafferty covers the business news for The World. She can be reached by calling 269-1222, ext. 236; or by e-mailing to jrafferty@theworldlink.com.)