Suddenly, Palmdale Airport becomes a bustling hub

On a day when traveling by car on earthquake-ravaged freeways to Los Angeles was virtually impossible, the Palmdale Regional Airport finally had its moment to shine.

You've heard it for 30 years from those airport boosters: In the event of a major earthquake in Los Angeles the Palmdale airport might be the only way in and out of Southern California. That scenario didn't quite play out in the 6.6 quake that struck the San Fernando Valley early yesterday morning.

But the local airport was the only way out of Southern California for Mike Khazma of Palmdale. And he had a long way to go. He needed to get to Syria to visit family and friends, and he was booked on a 4:15 p.m. flight out of Los Angeles International Airport.

"As soon as we found out about the earthquake damage, we started looking for another way," he said.

First, Khazma and his relatives tried calling the California Highway Patrol to find out what roads they could take to get to LAX. Not a good idea, they were told. So they decided to try the Palmdale Airport.

By 9 a.m., phones at the United Express and SkyWest desks in Palmdale were ringing like never before. "Busy, busy, busy," said M'Liss White, a customer service representative for United Express when asked how things were going at about 11 a.m.

Brandon Eaton, station manager for United Express, said the morning started slowly. Officials checked the terminal and runways to make sure there was no damage and, finding none, geared up for a normal day.

But the first commuter flight to Los Angeles was delayed 45 minutes and the next flight was canceled when LAX was closed. "Then people realized they wouldn't be able to get through today," Eaton said. "And they started coming to us."

Most of the new customers were people making connecting flights to LAX.

One would have to have an unnatural desire to get to work to take a shuttle flight. The cost of the one way ticket: $84.

If a passenger is catching a connecting flight and books in advance, Eaton said, the cost is only $10 to $20 extra. "Unfortunately, the people are getting the unrestricted fares today, but hopefully they'll remember us as a way to go."

And if you're going all the way to Syria, what's a few more dollars? Mike Khazma paid his money and got his ticket on a 1:15 SkyWest flight to LAX. Damascus, here we come.

Meanwhile, waiting nonchalantly for a flight that would eventually take them to Grand Junction, Colo., were Kirk Hill of Lancaster and his fiancee Devon Fieweger of Palmdale. Kirk said he regularly flies out of Palmdale, and he was not among the frantic, last-minute, 84-bucks-one-way refugees. Was this a Palmdale Airport devotee, the likes of which the boosters can use as a Palmdale Airport poster child?

Not exactly. When Kirk and Devon fly out of Palmdale they have a special reason: Devon works for SkyWest.

William P. Warford is city editor of the Valley Press. His column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays and he can be reached at 267-4151.