Letter to Anthony Foxx, Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation - Tri-Cities Airport's Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) Grant Application
Letter
The Honorable Anthony Foxx
Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Dear Secretary Foxx:
I am writing to express my strong support for a $750,000 funding request under the Small Community Air Service Development Program submitted to the USDOT by the Port of Pasco and the Tri-Cities Regional Airport. If awarded, the grant will be supplemented by $300,000 in matching funds from the Cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland; Benton and Franklin Counties; and local businesses.
The Tri-Cities Airport is a major regional transportation asset in the State of Washington serving more than one million residents living in communities in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. This airport is the gateway to the Tri-Cities region, is a key contributor to the economic vitality of the region, and provides direct air service for the region's residents and business without necessitating travel to larger airports hours away.
While the economy and population of the Tri-Cities has been growing at a dramatic rate, air service offerings and enplanements have remained flat, and there is a critical need for access to new markets. For example, there are more passengers between the Tri-Cities and Los Angeles every day than to any other destination, yet the airport has no daily non-stop service to any airport in southern California.
This funding request will be a key factor in helping the Port of Pasco recruit this critical service. Grant funding would be used to market the new service, offset startup costs for the carrier, and to support a revenue guarantee on the new route. Sky West Airlines, a current provider of air service at the Tri-Cities Regional Airport, has expressed interest in and support for new LAX service if this grant request is successful. This interest represents the exact type of private/public partnership that a SCASD grant can generate, and I strongly urge the Department of Transportation to partner with the Tri-Cities community on this important economic development project.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
U.S. Senator
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