SF Airport might lose fed funding.

Byline: Russell Max Simon

Sep. 12--SANTA FE, N.M. -- The Santa Fe Municipal Airport will likely lose $850,000 in federal grant money because the number of passengers who use the airport has sunk to its lowest level in years.

The airport also is in danger of losing its Federal Aviation Administration Class 3 status, which allows the airport to host commercial airline service, even as airport director Jim Montman is hoping to qualify the airport for Class 1 status.

That would allow regional commercial airlines such as America West and American Eagle to provide service to Denver and possibly Dallas or Phoenix, not to mention solve the low passenger load problem, Montman told the city's Public Utilities Committee on Monday.

"That's a huge concern, losing that grant money," Montman said, adding that he had "no doubt" that becoming certified as a Class 1 airport would resolve the problem.

Montman said that annual traffic at the airport hovered around 52,000 passengers before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, caused widespread declines in air travel around the country. The airport has struggled to stay above the annual 10,000-passenger threshold since 9/11, and this year, Montman said, the airport will likely fall 800 to 1,000 passengers short.

Providing regional service could double the number of passengers who fly out of the Santa Fe airport on commercial flights, from 3 percent of the airport's total flights to 6 to 7 percent, Montman said, adding that he hopes to have the airport upgraded to Class 1 status by April.