Juneau’s city-owned airport was briefly at risk of an emergency closure as its fleet of Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting trucks faced maintenance issues that could have shut down air traffic if all vehicles broke down.
That’s according to Juneau International Airport’s new manager, Andres Delgado, who spoke to the Juneau Assembly about the situation during a joint finance committee meeting Wednesday evening.
He said two out of three specialized emergency ARFF vehicles needed repairs in recent weeks, which left only one in service. That meant the airport couldn’t accept some larger planes from coming to Juneau, including some Alaska Airlines jets. He said there would have been much larger impacts if all trucks were out of commission.
“What that meant for the community, for a brief moment, was that had that truck — the remaining truck — gotten a flat tire, we would have been at what’s called an ‘ARFF zero’ status, which means no air carrier service to Juneau,” he said.
Currently, two trucks are back in service, and the airport is back to accepting larger planes, according to Capital City Fire/Rescue. But, Delgado said, the airport is immediately seeking more reliable replacements so the issue does not arise again. The airport is slated to receive a new truck in April, which will go into service this summer. Delgado said the airport is also seeking to obtain another vehicle as soon as possible.
During the meeting, he also spoke to the airport’s overall finances leading into the next fiscal year. Even with the issues with the emergency vehicles, he said the airport is anticipated to come in under budget this fiscal year and is in a good financial position.
“Last winter was fairly mild and runway de-icer is very expensive, and we did not use very much of it. So, there was significant cost savings there that rolled over into fiscal year 26,” he said.
Officials with Bartlett Regional Hospital were also at the joint finance committee meeting. The hospital board reported a good financial standing as well, ahead of the Juneau Assembly’s upcoming city budget-making process. That comes as the city faces a multimillion-dollar budget deficit going into next fiscal year that could result in service cuts.
Hospital CEO Joe Wanner told the Assembly that Bartlett is expected to spend more than budgeted, largely because of its push to expand services this year. But, he said the hospital is projecting an increase in outpatient revenue and a positive net income next fiscal year.
“Overall, it’s been a busy year, but with new providers, new clinics, come additional expenses,” he said. “This is primarily to meet the demands of our patients and support the health of the hospital as we move into the future.”
In 2024, the hospital faced a multimillion-dollar deficit that threatened bankruptcy. Its board controversially chose to reduce staffing and shut down multiple programs to keep that from happening. Wanner says the hospital is in a much better position compared to then, but still grapples with addressing its aging infrastructure, staff recruitment and retention, and low insurance reimbursement rates.
The Assembly’s joint meeting with the airport and hospital was held in preparation for its overall city budget-making process that kicks off next month.
