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Fog stops most flights Three arrive, two leave By DAVID PRESZLER Fog forced the cancellation of most flights Monday at the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, thwarting the plans of holiday travelers. And forecasters say visibility may be a problem until Christmas Day. "It's been our worst day this year," Airport Director Bern Case said Monday. "And tomorrow looks like it could be a tough day.'' "I think we are probably into several days of this," said Roger Gerig, a technician with the National Weather Service's Medford office. "We are going to be pretty persistent with fog in the valley." Gerig said he doesn't expect much air flow in the valley until Saturday. That wasn't the news airline officials were hoping to hear after a long Monday for passengers and airline workers. Two of United Airlines' jet flights and one United Express flight made it out in the early morning hours and two Express flights got in and out during the day. But two incoming United jet flights were sent to Eugene late in the day so the passengers could be bused to Medford, and six Express flights were canceled, according to Phil Herron, manager of United's Medford operations. Two of Horizon Air's flights were able to take off Monday morning, but airline officials said the nine other arrivals during the day were canceled as were the corresponding departures. Horizon officials said they were setting up bus schedules to drive passengers to Portland but only if seats were available on flights out of that city. Passengers were also being bused into Medford from Portland. "This is not good," said Dee Nelson, manager of Horizon's Medford operations. She said passengers were understandably unhappy with the situation. "They are pretty upset about it and you can't blame them," she said. "This is the time of year you want to go places and see family." "It never happens at a convenient time," said United's Herron. "It happens when flights are full and people want to see their families." A temporary lack of lights on the approach runway makes operating in fog conditions even more difficult. The lights will be out of service until next fall, when an extension of the main runway is completed. Case said the airport can't get temporary replacements because regulatory officials won't certify them. Without the lights, the airport needs a cloud ceiling of 200 feet and a mile of visibility for flights to land, Herron said. With lights, the requirements fall to a ceiling of 100 feet and a quarter-mile of visibility. "If the lights were up and running," he said "we would have landed every flight." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA