Yakima City Council To Consider Agreement To Restore Seattle-Tacoma to Yakima Flights

Jul. 3—Authorization of an air service agreement to restore the early-morning and late-night flights to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will be considered this week by the Yakima City Council.

A resolution to restore the Horizon Air flights, along with providing a minimum revenue guarantee of $500,000, is an item on the consent agenda of the council's Wednesday night meeting.

Horizon, an Alaska Airlines subsidiary, reduced the Sea-Tac flights from Yakima Air Terminal and other Eastern Washington airports to one a day in each direction last September due to pilot shortages and aircraft upgrades.

The agreement under consideration this week would restore the popular early-morning flight from Yakima to Sea-Tac, which allows passengers to make more convenient connections to other destinations from the Seattle-area airport. It also would restore the late-night arrival in Yakima from Sea-Tac.

Airport Director Rob Hodgman reported last month that a "good faith commitment" had been reached between the city and Alaska Airlines to restore the flights by Nov. 17, provided the community reach its $500,000 minimum revenue guarantee fundraising goal.

The amount includes $125,000 from the city of Yakima, $100,000 from Yakima County and $10,000 from the city of Union Gap, with these pledges coming from American Rescue Plan Act federal funds.

The remaining pledges have come from private businesses and community members, said Jonathan Smith, director of the Yakima County Development Association, which is overseeing the guarantee fund.

When the City Council approved the $125,000 in ARPA money for the air service development fund on May 16, Yakima Assistant City Manager Rosylen Oglesby said the $500,000 is an "overage" fund to cover costs and potential losses of re-establishing the flight over the next year.

If Alaska/Horizon does not need any of the $500,000 for that purpose, or uses only part of the guarantee money, it could be used to add more flights in the future, Oglesby said.

Also on Wednesday's agenda is an ordinance that would boost the fine and amend the ground control and security ordinance regarding parking at the airport. Vehicles parked in no-parking areas or the controlled parking areas without paying would be subject to a $20 per-day fine, double the previous amount.

Wednesday's meeting, held one day later than usual due to the Fourth of July holiday, begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 129 N. Second St.

To comment at the meeting, visit bit.ly/YHRcomment and fill out the comment request form. People also can email [email protected] or call 509-575-6060. Remote watch options will be available at the city website.

Contact Joel Donofrio at [email protected].

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