With Ravn Alaska discontinuing flights between Anchorage and Aniak soon, Ryan Air, an Alaskan airline that serves rural communities, will begin operating two new flights to Aniak starting Oct. 23. This will increase their operations from twice a week to four. They wlll operate flights Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and they’re also considering adding additional flights later. Ravn Alaska operated every day except for Sunday. The Ryan Air flights will be an hour later to accommodate those catching flights to nearby villages.
This decision was made in response to last week's news that Ravn Alaska would cease flights to both Aniak Airport and Kenai Municipal Airport after Oct. 20, citing a nationwide pilot shortage. The two airlines are the only passenger service operators offering flights between Aniak and Anchorage. The Kuskokwim village is off the road system, and is the connection point to Anchorage for surrounding villages.
Ravn Alaska filed for bankruptcy in summer 2020, but was bought out and returned to service on a reduced scale that November.
As the only other passenger flight operator, Ryan Air's director of flight production, Robert Lucas, said that they knew they needed to step up and increase service right away.
Ryan Air is also looking into adding extra flights in the afternoon from Aniak to other village communities. Prices will stay the same for those flights.
