A Wings Airways flight to the Taku Glacier Lodge in Juneau. Photo Credit: Heather Holt
One full season without cruise ships dealt a huge blow to the tourism-dependent businesses of southeast Alaska. A second one could be fatal. The survival of our communities is really on the line right now, she said.
Like most operators in southeast Alaska, the vast majority 90% of guests on Taku Lodge flightseeing tours are cruise passengers. The company survived a 2020 closure through a combination of federal and local support and relief from landlords and even aviation insurance companies. Everybody s given to make sure that we can get through, Johnson said. We ve been able to squeak by, but it s really scary looking at another summer, and not just another summer but getting through until April 22 .. We re on a shoestring now to hold it together.