Delta Air Lines is indefinitely suspending its service to the Arcata/Eureka Airport in northern California’s Humboldt County as weak economy lingers. Delta first halted its service to Salt Lake City in September, saying it planned to resume the service on a seasonal basis this summer. “We appreciate the Eureka community’s faith in Delta and we hope in the future there will be an opportunity for us to resume service,” Delta spokesman Kent Landers tells the Times-Standard of Eureka. The paper adds Delta has “been in talks with the county about ways to make Delta’s service to Humboldt County more profitable. … Landers said while he doesn’t know the specifics of what has been discussed with the county, two ways airports encourage more profits for airlines are revenue guarantees and the waiving of landing fees.” The Associated Press notes such items helped lure Delta to the airport in the first place. AP says “county agencies offered at least $1 million in incentives to spur Delta to begin its service to the Arcata/Eureka Airport in 2008.” Jacquelyn Hulsey, Humboldt County’s director of aviation is quoted by the Times-Standard as saying: “Clearly we’re disappointed. Delta, and the airport overall, had good numbers last year, especially given the challenging economic conditions faced by the nation.” Arcata/Eureka is still served by Horizon Air and United.
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