Airport corporation says it was surprised by suspension of Starlink service

In a news release issued Wednesday, the Yarmouth International Airport Corporation says it was surprised to receive notice from Starlink Aviation that its passenger service between Halifax, Yarmouth and Portland will end after its flights touch down on Monday.

The Yarmouth Airport Corporation says it has been negotiating with Starlink Aviation on the passenger schedule for 2010. The air carrier’s contract was up for renewal at the end of December.

The corporation says the airport recently received unanticipated charges from Starlink Aviation, although the news release does not state what these charges were. The release says negotiations are ongoing to resolve the unexpected expenses; yet a resolution may take several weeks. If these charges are to be paid in full, states the release, the provincial funding will be officially depleted. It says the airline has made the decision not to continue the route, although the airline says without the provincial subsidy funding it cannot continue to operate.

“The airport is the anchor of air service in the southwest Nova region,” says airport corporation executive director David Rankin. “In acknowledgement of this responsibility, the airport corporation is taking a prudent approach to addressing these unforeseen circumstances. We simply cannot offer a funding guarantee as a result of these expenses.”

The corporation says it is optimistic that the community and government stakeholders will continue to work with the airport and establish air service linkages into Yarmouth.

“We are very much focused on the potential for the airport’s future,” says Rankin. “While we recognize this is a set back, we've learned from this and are reviewing all of the data available over the past year to determine the best options for a viable service.

“We hope to have passenger service back early in 2010. But we also recognize that the future sustainability of the airport is more than just passenger service and that's what we are focused on as well.”

The release states that the Yarmouth airport is actively accepting proposals from air carriers that can provide the best possible service solutions for the airport, one that can provide passenger linkages to the US, Canada and beyond. The corporation is also looking at other revenue generators such as the establishment of flight-training, composite manufacturing, onsite aircraft maintenance and cargo.