SAFFORD — Monday evening, the Safford City Council will be asked to approve a contract between the city and Grand Canyon Scenic Airlines for passenger air service to and from Phoenix.
Under the terms of the contract, the city would have to put up a monthly guarantee not to exceed $172,800 to cover the costs of two round-trip flights daily, seven days a week. The guarantee would be in place to offset any tickets not sold.
Grand Canyon Airlines is proposing to use a nine-passenger Cesna Caravan turboprop aircraft for the flights.
The city recently received an $800,000 federal grant to help implement commercial air service to the city, as well as a $100,000 grant from Freeport in 2023. The city also budgeted $150,000 for the project.
Airport officials are also asking the City Council to reclassify the airport operations officer from part-time to full-time, and to create a new part-time airport operations position, to support the new flights with baggage handling, customer service and other as-needed duties.
To start the contract, Airport staff is requesting the City Council authorize spending of $961,000 from contingency. Based on projections, it’s believed the money will be reimbursed to the budget by the end of the fiscal year in June, through revenues from the flights.
Grand Canyon Scenic Airlines is primarily a tour operator, offering air tours of the south and west rims of the Grand Canyon, as well as Antelope Canyon. It has terminals in both the south and west rims of the Grand Canyon, in Page and in Boulder City, Nev.
The City Council meets Monday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m., in the program room of the Safford City-Graham County Library.
