For Immediate Release:

Service Awarded - EAS for Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown Regional Airport Benefactor of USDOT Contract
US Airways Express continues at HGR

(Hagerstown, MD - September 9, 2005)

Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR) Manager, Carolyn Motz received notification today from the office of United States Senator Paul S. Sarbanes that the U.S. Department of Transportation Order for commercial passenger service at Hagerstown was signed. The Order calls for MESA/Air Midwest (operating as US Airways Express) to provide three round trips a day from Hagerstown to Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania through September 2007.

Motz said earlier today “This service will perpetuate the community’s long standing tradition of scheduled air service while providing a critical transportation link for the citizens and businesses of Washington County and Quad-state region.”

All of this is made possible through the Essential Air Service (EAS) Program which is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation and as such is wholly funded by the Federal Government. The Program was designed to ensure that smaller communities retain existing links to the national air transportation system. Hagerstown was established as an EAS market in 1978 as a result of the Federal Airline Deregulation Act. Since its inception Hagerstown Regional Airport has not previously called on the EAS Program for support.

Today’s positive developments are the result of a complex and collaborative effort that started in the Fall of 2004. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a Request for Proposals for commercial passenger service at Hagerstown in April of this year. The Order was posted on the Federal Docket Management System today, September 9, 2005 (Docket #20430).

According to State of Maryland studies, Hagerstown Regional Airport contributes more than $50 million annually to the local economy, is the catalyst for some 500 jobs and supports dozens of local businesses. Hagerstown Regional Airport has operated without interruption since 1928 making it one of the oldest continually operating airports in the country.

For additional information go to Hagerstown Regional Airport’s web site www.FlyHagerstown.com or call Carolyn Motz at (240) 313-2777.

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