This story was updated at 12:20 p.m. July 5 to reflect the city’s response.
LAS CRUCES – The choice of a company to provide flights from Las Cruces to cities such as Santa Fe and Albuquerque has hit a snag, possibly delaying the resumption of commercial passenger service at the city’s airport for several months.
The city was awarded a $3.5 million state grant to establish domestic commercial passenger service at Las Cruces International Airport. In December, the City Council approved a resolution authorizing the city to seek funds through the New Mexico Rural Air Service Improvement Grant Program, which must include an additional 10 percent of matching city funds.
Airport manager Andy Hume said the city had selected the interstate flight provider through a public procurement process, but the non-selected provider had appealed the decision. During the appeals process, Hume said it was decided it was in the “best interests of the airport” to cancel the bid and restart the RFP process.
“There were some very important questions raised,” Hume said, prompting the city to ask bidders to provide more specifications in the reissued RFP, he said. The new RFP will ask potential bidders to indicate whether their planes have pressurized cabins and how much cargo or baggage weight their planes can carry.
Additionally, the new selection process will consider permitting planes that can carry up to 30 passengers, Hume said, compared to the previous maximum of nine — a change in state law during the 2022 legislative session. Overall, Hume said, the city will evaluate the bidder’s specifications based on the city’s desire to “shift” service in response to demand.
“Based on the outcome of the appeal, it was decided that yes, we could proceed with the provider we had selected at the time,” Hume said. “However, based on some of the issues raised by the complaint, mostly related to aircraft specifications, it was decided that it would be better to proceed with a more complete review of our aircraft specifications through the RFP process.”
Hume said the new RFP eliminates the previous “grey area” and provides a “cleaner” procurement process.
The new RFP will also require potential bidders to submit a plan for how their operations will be financially sustainable in future years if state grant funding runs out or is reduced.
“The bottom line is we want this to be a long-term passenger air service product that is a quality product for our residents and our visitors,” Hume said. “We just don’t want situations that are one and done.”
It is not clear if a new RFP has already been issued. The previously selected bidder and the bidder who complained were also unknown, and a city spokesman said the city could not immediately answer questions because some staff were away.
New Mexico Department of Transportation and Aviation Chief Dan Moran said the city’s request for up to $3.5 million in state grants has been approved. Whether the city receives the full amount will depend on the level of service at the airport. For example, if the service is higher than expected, the city’s chosen provider could request less subsidy and fewer grants, Moran said.
Las Cruces Airport has had no commercial passenger service since 2005. Between the late 1940s and 2005, 11 airlines provided commercial passenger service there. The city is investing in improvements to airport facilities and infrastructure as it prepares to resume commercial passenger services.
The city was previously estimated to be able to start interstate flights as early as mid-2022. Despite the cancellation of the RFP, Hume said the delay is likely to be a few months rather than an “extended delay.” He said the city is still working to roll out service within the state before the end of the calendar year.
Moran said the city won’t be eligible for reimbursement for services using the new maximum ridership until the new rules go into effect, which Moran estimates will likely happen by October.
Before the airport resumes interstate commercial passenger flights, additional capacity and infrastructure improvements must be made, along with the necessary upgrade of the airport’s classification. The city had hoped to fund $37.5 million in airport improvements using state capital spending secured during the 2022 session and to have interstate service up and running by the end of 2022.
However, the state approved only $1.1 million in capital expenditure funding, delaying needed improvements to interstate service as the city seeks other sources of funding. The city sought nearly $12 million in federal funding to build a multi-purpose terminal at the airport.
Michael McDevitt is a city and county government reporter for the Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-202-3205, mmcdevitt@lcsun-news.com or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.
