and DAN HEATH

PLATTSBURGH -- Clinton County officials are stepping up efforts to bring in a new airline to replace outgoing Big Sky Airlines.

They may have one candidate in Cape Air out of Hyannis, Mass.

"They could be, but we can't say just yet because there is still a process to go through," County Legislator Robert Heins, chairman of the county's Airport Committee, said Thursday.

Big Sky is leaving Plattsburgh International Airport on Monday, after just two months of providing service.

EMERGENCY REQUEST

The Montana-based company blamed high fuel costs and poor weather for its problems, which led to many delayed or canceled flights.

Big Sky was designated by the federal Department of Transportation as the Essential Air Service provider for both Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake, meaning the government subsidized the airline to provide flights.

Big Sky is required to remain in business in Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake until a replacement airline is found, but if the company goes out of the business, the government cannot force it to continue flying.

DOT put out an emergency request for proposals to airlines on Dec. 20, just one day after Big Sky announced it would be leaving.

The deadline for the proposals is Jan. 11, which will likely mean some time when no daily air service will be operating out of the Plattsburgh airport, which opened this past summer.

"Maybe we can get something going by the end of the month, but we really don't want a (bigger) gap," said Heins (R-Area 10, City of Plattsburgh).

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is pushing the federal government to provide the necessary incentives to lure a new Essential Air Service carrier right away.

"Simply waiting until Jan. 11 would be a grave mistake," Schumer said in a letter to DOT.

CAPE AIR INTERESTED