Carlile Transportation Services Inc. has pitched in to help some of its customers’ North Slope employees get home despite an FAA ban on civilian aircraft operations. <p>
"Officially we don’t transport passengers," Kevin Cilk of Carlile’s North Slope office told PNA. "We’ve given some customers a ride home — people who work for BP, Phillips and Colville." <p>
The company is giving the workers a lift in Carlile trucks as far as Fairbanks, where rental cars are available. Passengers are permitted on the trucks as long as they have company permission and no fare is charged, said company President Harry McDonald.<p>
The flying ban is causing other concerns for the company. "The mood here is quite subdued; we’re nervous about getting food to remote place we fly food, such as Alpine," Cilk said.<p>