Airport operations unaffected by virus

Many travelers are seeing plans disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak, but planes, trains and automobiles are still coming in and out of the Flathead Valley.

As of Tuesday, Glacier Park International Airport Director Rob Ratkowski said airport operations are still continuing as normal, albeit with extra precautions to sanitize the facility.

“It’s situation normal out here,” Ratkowski said Tuesday.

Currently, the airport is not screening passengers for the novel coronavirus. Ratkowski said the airport is working closely with the Flathead City-County Health Department to determine whether to screen people flying in and out of Kalispell. So far, the Health Department has not advised the airport to screen passengers, and Ratkowski said screening has not been implemented in other Montana airports, either.

“I don’t anticipate a lot happening here,” Ratkowski said. “We’re cautiously optimistic.”

At this point, Ratkowski said airline schedules have also remained unchanged, despite the virus. “We still haven’t seen any formal schedule reductions,” he noted.

However, he recognized, “there’s no questions it’s going to soften up. How much remains to be seen.”

The unaltered schedules include four daily flights directly to Seattle, where there have been hundreds of confirmed coronavirus cases. However, these flights will be reduced to three trips per day starting on Thursday, per regularly scheduled reductions.

Since April is traditionally the slowest month for GPIA, many airlines offer fewer flights during this time, Ratkowski pointed out.

The airport has recently seen a slight decrease in passenger volumes, with the decline starting last Thursday, but decreases at this time of the year are common, Ratkowski explained. For the period from March 10 to 16 of this year, he said the airport is down 203 passengers compared to this time last year. He said the airport typically sees around 680 passengers per day during this time of year.

The biggest change at GPIA in response to coronavirus are the airport’s cleaning procedures. The facility recently switched to a new cleaner that requires shorter contact time on surfaces to sanitize them, and some individual airlines have taken their own precautions to clean planes after each trip. Hand sanitizer stations have been added throughout the airport, and staff are encouraged to follow Centers for Disease Control recommendations such as staying home with any symptoms and maintaining a 6-foot distance from other staff members and guests whenever possible.

Despite the uncertain situation, Ratkowski said, “the airport is in great financial condition. We have significant management reserves just for this situation.”

He also promised GPIA will still provide work for its staff in the event the airport were to close. He said they have outlined other projects staff members could take on during a temporary closure.

“We’re not worried,” Ratkowski said.

For ground passengers, Amtrak’s Empire Builder service in and out of Whitefish hasn’t been interrupted, either, even though Amtrak adjusted some of its services. The Cascades line north of Seattle and the Colorado Winter Park Express are both currently suspended.

“Other circumstances may also be impacted as circumstances change,” an announcement on Amtrak’s website read Tuesday. “Customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will be contacted and typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day. Amtrak is waiving change fees on all existing or new reservations made before April 30, 2020.”

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at bserbin@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.