JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The John P. Murtha Johnstown- Cambria County Airport’s commercial carrier is modifying one daily Chicago- to- Johnstown flight to address delays.
United Airlines carrier Skywest is moving its Chicago O’Hare International to Johnstown evening flight up one hour earlier to help eliminate next-day delays that are sometimes required by Federal Aviation Administration regulations, Airport Manager Cory Cree said.
Flight pilots and crews are required to have a 10-hour rest period between their daily schedules. When flights depart on time from Chicago, that’s not an issue, but in recent months, delays at O’Hare International have sometimes had a trickle-down effect on ones in Johnstown, Cree said.
If a flight arrives late, crews are prevented by FAA regulations from departing for 10:50 a.m. flights to Washington-Dulles International the following morning.
That’s led to delays for the D.C. flights, causing them to be pushed back an hour or more, he said.
The hope is that will change next month.
Effective Monday, Chicago flights to Johnstown are now scheduled to depart O’Hare at 7:35 p.m. and arrive at 10:20 p.m., more than an hour earlier.
“Now, if there’s a short delay, it won’t impact the schedule the next day – and worst case, if it’s a longer one, the delay will be shorter,” Cree said.
Flight delays have been on the upswing for the airline industry nationwide since the pandemic as airlines have adapted to labor shortages and other issues in the post-COVID-19 era.
In Johnstown, SkyWest Airline’s monthly report showed seven of the airline’s 121 scheduled flights to or from Johnstown had rest-related delays in May.
It didn’t prevent the carrier from reaching new monthly passenger marks in May however.
‘3,000’ club
A total of 3,153 people flew into or from Johnstown’s airport in May through United.
It’s the first time more than 20 years that passenger totals broke the 3,000 mark, airport figures show.
The airport recorded 1,595 enplanements – departures from Johnstown – which was nearly double the monthly goal.
Airports with 10,000 or more enplanements annually receive $1 million in federal Primary Entitlement funds.
The airport is on track to top that threshold again in 2024, Cree said.
Figures show the facility has already logged 6,413 total enplanements through May, and has just shifted into the traditionally busy summer travel season.
Agreement extended
In recent years, Nulton Aviation’s Larry Nulton has helped airport officials launch the Aerium Summit and drone pilot programs, while finalizing plans with St. Francis University to address airline labor shortages by developing homegrown pilot and aircraft maintenance training courses.
And grant funds were secured to further develop a KOEZ economic opportunity zone to add more activity at the airport.
Through a deal approved last week, Nulton’s Cambrian Hills Development Group was awarded a five-year extension to enable the group to continue working to lure business into the tax-free zone.
Airport officials voted unanimously to extend a developer’s agreement through December 2029.
Airport officials credited Nulton’s group for helping them bring a “great vision for business development and growth” to the airport.
“We’re building an (aviation) workforce that we think is going to help us attract businesses to our airport,” Cree said.
“Extending (a deal with Cambrian Hills) was an easy decision for us,” he said.
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