Nearly two weeks after the Bellingham International Airport aviation director was ousted, reportedly for financial reasons, the Port of Bellingham refuses to answer questions about his dismissal.
“The Port does not discuss personnel issues,” wrote Mike Hogan, the port’s public affairs administrator, in an email to Cascadia Daily News on Wednesday, July 31.
Kip Turner confirmed to CDN last week he was let go by the port on July 19 for what he described as financial reasons. Turner’s dismissal did not become public knowledge until almost a week later on July 25, when it was first reported by CDN.
Emails to Hogan and Rob Fix, the port’s executive director, were not answered until Monday, July 29 — four days after CDN requested comment.
Hogan spoke with a reporter Monday morning, reiterating that the Port would not discuss Turner’s dismissal, nor answer questions about potential financial problems.
“The Port has a relatively small management team working on many large projects throughout Whatcom County so it sometimes takes us a few days to respond to media requests,” Hogan wrote Wednesday. “We received your request after business hours on Thursday 7/25 and responded Monday morning 7/29. During summertime, Friday is a popular vacation day.”
The timing of Turner’s dismissal is unusual — coming two weeks before Southwest Airline’s planned departure from BLI on Aug. 4. In interviews with CDN and during Port meetings, Turner had presented a positive outlook for adding more carriers and flight options for area residents to fill the void left by Southwest.
Turner’s dismissal comes nearly 10 months after he was hired to replace retiring aviation director Sunil Harman.
In October 2023, Fix had publicly welcomed Turner: “We are excited to welcome Kip Turner to our team. Kip’s depth of experience, passion for aviation, and vision for improving both commercial and general aviation services are well aligned with the Port’s goals for Bellingham International Airport.”
Turner came with more than 30 years of airline experience, having managed four airports and worked for Frontier Airlines.
Days before Turner’s dismissal, Tamara Sobjack, chief financial officer for the Port of Bellingham, gave port commissioners a presentation on financial returns in the first six months of 2024.
“This is our standard quarterly report,” she said. “The financial part of it, just as a reminder, is to report variances from budget and spoiler alert, there aren’t many so this might be brief.”
Sobjack reported the port had collected $15.8 million in revenue during the six month period. Aviation revenue hovered around $3.75 million, almost the same as what had been budgeted in 2023.
“Parking and concession fees are a little lower than we planned but still higher than last year, so nothing major to report,” Sobjack said.
If the port collected the same amount of revenue in the next six months from the airport, the $7.5 million would come in just under the $8.1 million that was projected in the 2024 budget.
With “nothing major to report” in the aviation budget, it’s unclear why the port might have cited financial factors for Turner’s layoff. Turner’s 2023 salary, $175,000, is comparable to what Sunil made — around $180,000 prior to retirement, according to publicly available salary information.
“It floored me,” Turner told CDN, describing that he had received a meeting invite the afternoon before he was let go. When he arrived at the port’s administrative building Friday morning, he was told the news. “I had no idea it was coming.”
He said he was allowed to return to the office and pack up his desk.
Back in June, the future of the airport was portrayed as bright despite a pending departure from Southwest — ostensibly due to the current Boeing aircraft shortage — and a steady drop in passenger numbers, which is nothing new for BLI. Influenced by a broad range of factors including the Canadian/U.S. exchange rate, passenger numbers have dropped over the past 10 years.
Port commissioners in June sat through a presentation by Turner, who said he was not aware that it would be his last time presenting to the commission. Turner spoke about the airport and he spoke of being in conversation with potential airlines who could replace Southwest once it left in August. Those conversations were preliminary, with two airlines saying they could potentially start service in October.
Gaining those potential carriers would accomplish a strategic aviation goal set by the port in 2023.
“In 2024, the Port will continue to recruit new airlines and work with existing carriers on new routes and increased service on existing routes,” according to the public budget document.
Turner also spoke about efforts to raise funds to build out the international arrivals terminal (about 100 passengers fly to Mexico daily in the Bellingham market and BLI cannot process those arrivals, meaning a loss of business) and attempts to diversify BLI’s aeronautical offerings.
“The airport is an asset to the community in so many ways,” he said, listing economic productivity in commercial and cargo aviation, as well as providing jobs. “So we’re looking at a diversified source of development.”
Commissioners appeared invested into the future of BLI and Turner’s role. Commissioner Bobby Briscoe even praised Turner for his idea to establish a pilot training program.
Now, the future of the airport feels up in the air.
Hogan wrote that staff at BLI is well-equipped to handle the airport’s day-to-day operations following Turner’s departure and that no decisions have been made to hire another aviation director. At the moment, Fix is temporarily filling in as aviation director.
“The Port is confident in the capabilities and dedication of our team to maintain high standards of service and safety at the airport,” Hogan wrote.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
