Just days before Horizon’s announcement, the South Coast Development Council’s billboard near the Southwestern Oregon Regional Airport was changed to show added flights south with Sky West. Horizon announced late last week that it will stop flights between North Bend and Portland in October.-World Photo by Lou Sennick

The turmoil swirling in the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport’s new terminal offices wasn’t apparent on the outside of the building Monday.

Landscapers were unloading potted plants to place in the soil near the airport’s entrance off Airport Lane. It also wasn’t obvious — at first — downstairs where Hauser residents, Doug Hill and Terra Enstrom, were setting up their new business, The Hangar Café.

But the news that Horizon Air will stop all flights between North Bend and Portland as of Oct. 11 still was settling in.

Enstrom said she feels like she can’t make plans for the future yet.

“Everything’s based on what’s going to happen with the airlines,” she said.

Hill said he is keeping positive.

“You put in a facility like this ... it’s devastating,” Hill said. “But I really believe it will come around. The administrative staff here is phenomenal, and I have no doubt they’ll take care of the issues.”

For three years, the two have owned a shuttle service, Aviation Transportation, and spent much of their time driving golfers back and forth between the airport and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

“There are enough major players coming in here,” Hill said. “Something’s going to happen.”

Inside the old terminal, Rick and David Ellingson, owners of Bargreen Ellingson Inc., Foodservice, Supply & Design of Tacoma, were waiting for their return flight to Seattle. Father and son make the trip to Bandon Dunes twice a year. That could change.

“We come to play the golf course, with people, with customers,” David said. “I don’t know if we’d have to go to San Francisco first. I guess if we can’t fly down, we’ll drive down.”

“It’s a seven-hour drive if we come,” his father said.

Rick said losing the Portland connection would be a blow.

“It’s the only thing that comes here,” he said.

A North Bend man, who was waiting for someone to arrive on an afternoon flight, said it was poor planning to build the new terminal and to add the flights between North Bend and San Francisco.

“Who’s going to go to San Francisco?” asked Bill Lemoine, who taught at Southwestern Oregon Community College for 29 years.

“Portland is the big draw,” he said. “To take away the Portland flight is a tragedy.”

Lemoine said he flies to Dallas every winter to see his daughter.

“Every time I’ve flown, it’s been pretty full,” he said.

“We’re all shaking our heads,” he said, of himself and his friends. “Local people say, ‘Wow, what’s happened?’”

Airport Executive Director Gary LeTellier said he and the airport district commissioners are working hard to keep the flights to Portland.

“We’re looking at some options that could benefit us. I don’t want people to be discouraged. We’re going to mitigate this,” he said.

On a dark note, LeTellier said dealing with the high fuel prices — $5 per gallon today compared to $2 per gallon a year ago — is the worst experience airlines have ever had, by far.

“I predict more smaller airports will lose service unless something can be done about fuel prices,” he said. “We have to do something before something can be done at the national level.”