ARCHITECTS ARE SHIFTING focus from plans for a new terminal at Ford Airport to perhaps expanding the existing Fontana Terminal due to costs, a county official said. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Plans for a new terminal at Ford Airport are in a holding pattern as Dickinson County officials seek an alternative to a project roughly estimated at $35 million.

Architects from Minneapolis-based Alliance are looking into expanding the existing Fontana Terminal, rather than adding a new structure, County Controller Brian Bousley said.

More than a year ago, the county board held talks with consultants on a proposed two-story building of about 35,000 square feet, including a second-floor restaurant. Under that plan the Fontana Terminal, measuring about 12,000 square feet, would serve only as office space.

During this week’s county board meeting, Bousley said an estimated $20 million in Federal Aviation Administration assistance isn’t sufficient, and isn’t guaranteed. “Everything is at a standstill,” he said. “That’s the reality of it right now.”

A tentative schedule had put construction in 2025 or 2026, contingent on FAA funding.

Prein & Newhof of Grand Rapids was hired in 2022 to conduct a $140,000 federally-paid study on the airport’s needs. The consultant confirmed the need for a bigger terminal, but acknowledged it was unlikely to be built using federal dollars alone.

Passenger traffic at the county airport is on the rise, Bousley reported. Through March, there have been 4,336 boardings on SkyWest Airlines flights, a level that’s ahead of last year and approaching pre-COVID numbers.

At least 10,000 enplanements are needed annually for a base entitlement of $1 million under the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, which funds most capital projects. The 2023 enplanements total was 18,486, down slightly from 20,622 in 2022. The record of 22,980 was set in pre-pandemic 2019.

SkyWest, operating under the Delta brand, has served as Ford Airport’s Essential Air Service carrier since 2012. In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation renewed its contract at a much higher rate through Jan. 31, 2026.

The previous annual federal subsidy of up to $3,868,146 now stands at $7,068,428, according to the DOT order. Next year, it will rise to $7,563,218.

SkyWest formerly used 50-seat aircraft for daily flights to Detroit or Minneapolis but is now flying larger regional jets. Its Bombardier CRJ700 seats 65 to 69 passengers, while the Bombardier CRJ900 allows 76 passengers. The airline also has the option of using 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ550s.

The use of larger aircraft has created extra security demands and contributes to the need for more terminal space, Bousley said.

A competing EAS proposal from Boutique Air of San Francisco, Calif., called for turbo-props seating eight or nine passengers and offering 24 weekly roundtrips to Minneapolis under a codeshare agreement with United Airlines. Boutique’s proposed subsidy was $5.92 million in the first year at Iron Mountain-Kingsford, but the offer drew no community support.

Boutique has filed a petition with the DOT for reconsideration to serve Ford Airport and Rhinelander, Wis., but no response has been posted.

SkyWest’s latest DOT contract is part of a five-airport EAS order that also includes Sault Ste. Marie, Rhinelander, and Brainerd and International Falls, Minn.

EAS is designed to fund a minimal level of scheduled air service to small communities that would otherwise be unprofitable for airlines to serve. To help pay for EAS, the U.S. government collects overflight fees from international flights that fly through FAA-controlled airspace, even though the aircraft neither take off nor land in the U.S.

Under EAS, no community within the 48 contiguous states may receive a subsidy greater than $200 per passenger unless the community is more than 210 miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport.

Assuming a load factor of 46%, SkyWest’s newest contract works out to an effective subsidy of $5,390 per trip, or $149 per Ford Airport passenger, according to to the airline. The subsidy per passenger under the former contract was projected at $127 in September 2020.

According to the National Association of Counties, the FAA is operating under a short-term funding patch through May 10 as Congress continues to work on a new long-term bill. A six-year funding law expired at the end of September.