Transportation

A familiar ship was moored for much of Wednesday at the ferry dock. The ferry M/V Tustumena made its first Kodiak port call following a long period of repairs.     This photo shows the ‘Trusty Tusty’ as it approached the channel after turning around in the area off Pier 2 and Pier 3. KMXT Photo by Kavitha George.

By Eric Stone, KRBD – Ketchikan There’s a lot to keep track of when it comes to COVID-19 and Alaska’s response to the pandemic. Reporters all over the state are talking to experts and local Alaskans every day about the impact the virus is having on our lives. And still, there are questions. Lots and lots of unanswered questions. We’re trying …

UPDATE: At a COVID-19 press briefing on Friday, Governor Mike Dunleavy announced that the 14-day quarantine mandate for out-of-state travelers to Alaska will end Friday, June 5. Instead, travelers to the state will be asked to take a coronavirus test within 72 hours, and test negative for the virus, before they make their flight from the Lower 48. Public health …

By Nathaniel Herz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage Alaska’s largest rural airline is scrambling to find a buyer that can keep the company intact as it emerges from bankruptcy, rather than seeing its planes sold off piecemeal through a liquidation process. RavnAir Group flew to more than 100 Alaska communities before shutting down and filing for bankruptcy last month amid …

Sign welcoming travelers from Alaska to the Yukon Territory in Canada. (Creative Commons) With the Coast Guard transfer season about to kick off, many travelers to and from Kodiak are concerned about how to make the trek if the US/Canada border remains closed. Here’s an update about the new extended closure from Henry Leasia, KHNS – Haines. Canadian Prime Minister Justin …

By Nathaniel Herz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage A RavnAir Group Dash-8 plane sits on the tarmac at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. (RavnAir) A Juneau-based flight service says that continuing air service to Southwest Alaska communities like the bustling fishing port of Dutch Harbor could be jeopardized unless its bid to buy regional airline PenAir is accepted by its …

Story by Tyler Thompson, KDLG – Dillingham Alaska Airlines announced Monday that year-round services in Bristol Bay will start May 18. Alaska Air in Dillingham is scheduled to fly three days a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The airline will fly two days a week in King Salmon, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. RELATED: Ravn files plan to liquidate, as bankruptcy …

After drastically cutting flight services last week, this weekend RavnAir Group announced it would be halting all flights, laying off its remaining staff and filing for bankruptcy. Ravn employees at Kodiak airport were previously responsible for servicing Ravn turboprops as well as the daily Alaska Airlines jets from Anchorage. Now, Alaska Airlines says it’s working to hire back Kodiak’s recently …

KMXT received the following press release from Alaska Airlines and posted it here with minor editing.   Photo courtesy blog.AlaskaAirlines.com   Alaska Airlines responds to Ravn suspension of service   ANCHORAGE – With the announcement on Sunday of RavnAir Alaska stopping all operations, Alaska Airlines expressed deep concern for the Ravn employees and communities in the state impacted by the …

We had help with this story from Caroline Lester at KUCB in Unalaska. RavnAir group announced today that it is cutting almost all service to rural communities. City Manager and Kodiak Emergency Services Director, Mike Tvenge, confirmed that Ravn will halt flights to and from Kodiak because of the coronavirus crisis. Tvenge spoke during Thursday’s live broadcast of the weekly …