Alaska city declares air-service emergency after fatal crash

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An emergency has been declared by officials in an Alaska city involving a lack of air service following a fatal plane crash that led to the suspension of regular flights.

The Unalaska City Council also passed a resolution Tuesday that states the city wants to start organizing charter flights and selling seats at the basic cost, the Anchorage Daily News reported .

The council approved funding for up to three weeks or until the return of regular flights.

To organize the charter flights, the city would need a waiver of public charter requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The city’s action came after the Oct. 17 crash of a Saab 2000 twin-engine turboprop that overran the runway.

A Washington state man died, and 10 others people required medical attention after the crash of the plane operated by Peninsula Airways, which is owned by Ravn Air Group.

Alaska Airlines and PenAir temporarily stopped operations for safety reasons.

Unalaska, about 800 miles (1,287 kilometres) southwest of Anchorage, is located on an island that’s battered by Aleutian weather.

Alaska Airlines has cancelled trips through Nov. 20 after marketing as many as three daily flights.

Several charters are making daily trips between Anchorage and Unalaska.

The Ravn company said it would announce the date that service will begin as soon as it is ready to begin the flights and has received Federal Aviation Administration approval.

Meanwhile, thousands of fishing industry employees are trying to get out of the community of more than 4,000 people.