IRON MOUNTAIN — Only 88 passengers boarded SkyWest Airlines flights at Ford Airport in April, but the airport still stands a chance of reaching the 10,000 enplanements needed in 2020 to qualify for up to $1 million in Airport Improvement Program funds.

From January through April there were 4,440 boardings and “things are starting to pick up,” Controller Brian Bousley told the county board Tuesday.

A record 22,980 passengers boarded flights at Ford Airport in 2019, but the facility has not escaped the dramatic falloff in air travel nationwide due to COVID-19.

In April, SkyWest considered reducing its flight schedule, but instead has kept its full complement of 13 round trip flights a week, linking to Minneapolis and Detroit.

Meeting by teleconference, the county board Tuesday agreed to help SkyWest during the pandemic by deferring rent payments from May through July, and landing fees from April through June. No figures were provided, but Bousley noted full payment will be expected by Dec. 31.

Based in St. George, Utah, SkyWest has served as Dickinson County’s Essential Air Service carrier since December 2012. Its current contract provides an annual federal subsidy of up to $3,275,512.

Ford Airport has qualified every year since 2013 for $1 million in AIP funds by exceeding 10,000 annual passenger boardings. Airports topping that threshold are classified as primary airports by the Federal Aviation Administration.

SkyWest’s EAS contract expires at the end of January 2021. Before the pandemic, county officials were optimistic the airline would reapply at a reduced rate due to higher usage.

Although passenger fees and other airport revenues are down due to the pandemic, the county expects the losses to be offset by nearly $1.1 million in federal aid under the CARES Act Airport Grant Program. Of that, $690,000 could be used to pay off hangar construction borrowing, with the balance going toward payroll and other operating expenses.

Construction bids, meanwhile, are under review for AIP-funded projects scheduled this summer. They include an estimated $3 million taxiway resurfacing, along with crack-sealing and lighting improvements.

The work shouldn’t interfere with flight schedules.

Passenger arrivals have been slightly higher than boardings at the airport, with 130 deplanements in April. March’s figures were 929 boardings and 1,013 arrivals.