Seven objections have been filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation,  protesting termination of air service between North Bend and Portland.

Among those objecting are the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend, the Coquille Indian Tribe and the Coos County Airport District. Other objections were sent from as far south as Bandon and Port Orford.

The agencies and individuals cite concerns regarding Horizon Air’s intent to terminate service at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport after Oct. 11. Horizon currently provides four round-trip flights from North Bend to PDX Sunday through Friday, and two on Saturdays.

In its objection, North Bend suggested a reasonable level of air service would be two flights a day.

“This area is very dependent upon North Bend service,” said Jan Willis, North Bend city administrator. “This is something that we all need to be very interested in and hopefully we’ll have a good outcome.”

Willis said attorney David Koch, of the North Bend law firm Stebbins & Coffey, crafted an objection that was subsequently used as a template by some of the other objectors.

The objection cites a Civil Aeronautics Board-DOT order that designated Portland as the hub for North Bend/Coos Bay essential air service, which guarantees sufficient air service at smaller airports that might not otherwise be profitable to maintain service. This order, adopted by the board in December 1984, was the last ruling on the essential air service designation at the airport.

In Horizon Air’s notice to terminate, it said the addition of SkyWest Airlines’ twice-daily round-trip flights to San Francisco, which began July 7, will satisfy the essential air service requirements.

But the 1984 order specified Portland as the hub for North Bend.

“... we cannot conclude that service to a southbound hub, in addition to service to Portland, is warranted,” the order said. “Therefore, we affirm our decision ... to name only one hub, Portland, for North Bend’s essential air service,” it states.

The order said there must be at least two round trips between North Bend and Portland each weekday and weekend.

The community’s isolation was a major concern in most of the objections filed. The next closest airport with service to Portland is Eugene, a two-hour drive along two-lane highways vulnerable to snow, flooding and landslides from late October to early April.

“We are unique in the sense that we’re isolated,” Willis said. “In the wintertime, we might not get to Eugene. We have medical concerns. We are the only commercial airport on the West Coast of Oregon.”

The Coquille Tribe said in its objection that approximately half of the tribal members reside outside Southwestern Oregon.

“The objector relies on Horizon’s Portland air flight service to return tribal members to their homeland for monthly and annual tribal events,” the objection states.

Sometimes, if air service is not lucrative to continue at an airport under the essential air service program, the airline could be allocated subsidies to keep air service going.

“The program is set up so if a community is losing its last air service without a subsidy, a subsidy could be made available if it’s the only option,” said Bill Mosely, DOT public affairs specialist. But the new flights to San Francisco could be a factor, he said.

“We take that into consideration that there is an alternate service available without a subsidy,” Mosely said.

When Horizon filed its termination notice, it blamed fuel prices and its introduction of larger, fuel-efficient aircraft that wouldn’t be available for the North Bend airport.

Even though the official response period ended on July 17, late responses could still be considered, since the DOT has not made its final determination. Comments or objections can be submitted by anyone online at www.regulations.gov.

The document identification number is DOT-OST-2008-0205. Instructions for filing objections can be obtained at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_08/14cfr323_08.html .

“If somebody has a late comment, they can ask to be accepted,” Mosely said.

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