Oct. 5--The plight of Harrisburg International Airport continues.

Now that the airport's only low-cost carrier, TransMeridian, pulled out after a failed restructuring plan, officials there must try to fill the hole it left behind.

But because the airline only provided HIA passengers with service to Orlando, Fla. -- representing about 2.3 percent of the airport's monthly passengers -- its loss is not devastating, said members of the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority. The authority oversees both HIA and Capital City Airport in Fairview Township.

"We're going to continue to do what we had been doing while TransMeridian was still operating, which is actively marketing low-cost carriers with the hope of getting a low-cost service into Harrisburg International," said Timothy Tate, secretary of the authority's board. "Obviously, we'd like to get a low-cost carrier as quickly as possible and we have been working diligently on marketing to low-cost carriers over the years.

"We continue to market to them," he said, "but the overall state of the airline industry right now is not real good."

Over the past few years, a handful of airlines have filed for bankruptcy, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

Yet, both Tate and fellow board member David Carver expressed utmost confidence in HIA Director of Aviation Alfred Testa Jr., a 14-year veteran of the aviation industry.

"The board is comfortable that Mr. Testa and his staff will be able to identify and secure a low-cost carrier for that particular route," Carver said.