Ravn Alaska will halt service to Homer, effective Tuesday, March 4.
The company made the announcement on their website, saying that they “will no longer be flying to Homer due to our inability to arrive at an equitable agreement with the airport.”
The Homer City Council approved a five-year sublease at the Homer Airport to Ravn in 2023. The sublease was set to expire on March 30, 2028.
City Manager Melissa Jacobsen said Monday that, at the last council meeting on Feb. 24, the council also passed a resolution amending Ravn’s sublease to include an early termination clause.
Resolution 25-017 states that the airline requested the amendment, and that while any amendment would be subject to approval from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the city council had indicated that it was “amenable to terms that allow for cancellation with 90-day written notice.”
The amendment states that either party — Ravn or the City of Homer — may terminate the sublease by giving 90 days’ written notice.
Jacobsen said, however, that after the city submitted the amended sublease to Ravn, the airline refused to sign.
“We’re really disappointed,” Bryan Hawkins, Homer port director and airport terminal manager, said Monday. “We thought we were working hard to keep that relationship going. In the end they decided they couldn’t.
Ravn Alaska did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
Aleutian Airways continues to provide service to and from Homer, Hawkins confirmed. However, while there are other airline operators working on the Kenai Peninsula, it is currently unknown if or when they may fill the vacancy at the Homer Airport.
Find Resolution 25-017, the sublease amendment and other supplemental materials in full at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/resolution/resolution-25-017-approve-amendment-new-pacific-airlines-inc-lease.