Duluth officials concerned about the future of the Northwest Airlines maintenance base here &045; as well they should be &045; are prudently exploring replacement possibilities in the event that Northwest walks away from the facility.

With the airline filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and beset with labor problems and layoffs, the $48 million publicly financed maintenance base at Duluth International Airport is shut down and might never open again under Northwest Airlines’ imprimatur, local interests fear.

So what’s to become of the huge hangar that has housed maintenance operations for Northwest’s aircraft with the good services of members of the now-striking Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association?

Nobody knows. But Brian Ryks, Duluth Airport Authority director, and Rob West, CEO of the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion, journeyed to Washington, D.C., visiting Congress members and aviation experts to set the initial stage for the day when Northwest abandons the Duluth facility, if that’s where the current crisis leads the airline.

Taking pre-emptive action &045; even if it is preliminary &045; is exactly what needs to be done now, rather than waiting and wondering if and when the ax, if not a monkey wrench, is going to drop on the maintenance facility. The two are meeting with U.S. Rep. James Oberstar and Sen. Norm Coleman to discuss the base’s future. Oberstar, as ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, could be key in any effort to find a replacement mission or occupant for the facility, should it come to that.

West told the Duluth Airport Authority, &uot;The worst thing we can do is simply wait and see what happens.&uot;

That sums it up. There’s much at stake in this for northeastern Minnesota.

&045; Duluth News Tribune