Some communities in Western Alaska now have a new, potentially faster option to receive their bypass mail and freight shipments via airplane.
According to an announcement from Lynden Air Cargo last week, the company is expanding its regular services to two Yukon-Kuskokwim communities.
“So we are very very excited to be adding St. Mary’s and Emmonak to our existing points of service, which up to this point has included Nome, Kotzebue, and Bethel.”
That was Dani Myren, the customer service manager for Lynden Air Cargo.
Myren did not have information on the exact numbers or amount of mail the company currently delivers to Emmonak and St. Mary’s, but she did say that there is enough volume in cargo to make it worthwhile for Lynden to offer two flights per week, year-round to those locations.
Bypass mail, fish, and general cargo of all sizes will be flown into the area on the company’s existing fleet of commercial C-130 aircraft.
Overall, Lynden Air Cargo believes expanding services into these two communities will fill a need in the region and absolutely cut down on residents’ wait times for their mail.
“There’s a lot of need and having an option as far as air freight, being able to rely on those services, is really important to our communities in Alaska, Western Alaska. So, it’s been a great opportunity to connect with members of these communities.”
The first flight on this new route is scheduled to take a “circle trip” from Anchorage to St. Mary’s, onward to Emmonak, and then back to Anchorage on Friday, May 3.
Image at the Top: C-130 plane unloading packages in Western AK. Photo: KNOM file (2014)
