MOSES LAKE — As temperatures continue to drop, people in and around the Basin have already begun looking forward to spring.

One reason for that is the return of passenger service to Grant County International Airport. One carrier, SeaPort Airlines, will provide service between Moses Lake, Seattle, and Portland.

SeaPort is a scheduled commuter airline with a “business strategy of operating a shuttle service between Seattle and Portland that offers private terminals and the avoidance of TSA screening lines,” according to company officials.

The Port of Moses Lake’s director of facilities and operations, Richard Mueller, recently flew to Portland on SeaPort’s Cessna 208 Caravan, the aircraft that will service GCIA. Frequent fliers used to large commercial jets will be in for a bit of a surprise.

It is a small airplane, Mueller said. But bigger isn’t always better.

Mueller described the flight as a “smooth operation” and noted the quality of the interior of the aircraft and customer service.

“They try hard to make people feel comfortable. They try to make the flight enjoyable,” Mueller said

Mueller said the Cessna 208s fly at a lower altitude, giving passengers a better view of the gorge’s scenery.

SeaPort’s site lists the Cessna 208’s typical cruising altitude as 8,000 feet, a fraction of the altitude at which larger commercial jets fly.

March 1 remains the launch date for SeaPort Airlines at GCIA. A direct flight from Moses Lake to Portland takes an hour and a half and is available for as low as $55 on SeaPort’s website. Direct flights to Seattle are available from $55 and get you there in just an hour.

According to a Columbia Basin Herald article from September, the end of a federal air service subsidy marked the end of passenger service in Moses Lake, in 2007, only to be restored again, in 2009, by SkyWest Airlines. SkyWest provided passenger service between Moses Lake and SeaTac, but a lack of travelers caused SkyWest to cease the service one year later.