The Farmington-based carrier told Los Alamos National Laboratory representatives that low passenger numbers were a principal reason for the decision.
Mesa, with eight flights daily, four from Los Alamos to Albuquerque International Airport and four return flights, will continue all scheduled flights through Friday.
"Mesa said they were pulling out due to the low load factors and the operational problems they had in needing to borrow some of the aircraft for other, busier routes," explained Guy Sandusky, of the Laboratory's Travel Group.
"While Mesa currently is being forced to cease operations due to these problems, they do plan to re-evaluate the Los Alamos-Albuquerque route," Sandusky said.
He added that Mesa has agreed to meet with representatives from the Laboratory and Los Alamos County to discuss their future plans.
The Laboratory is considering whether to try to attract another air carrier to Los Alamos.
"If another carrier comes in, they will have to improve reliability," Sandusky said.
Mesa has flown the Los Alamos/Albuquerque route with twin-engine, 19-seat planes. The one-way fare is $69.
Although some studies projected that Mesa could attract as many as 1,350 passengers a month, the greatest one-month number was 358.
Previous carriers were Ross Airlines, which carried an average of 1,450 passengers a month, and Peacock Air, which flew the route briefly in 1995-6. During 1995, about 17,000 travelers took Ross or Peacock flights.
A recent survey of Laboratory employees who use the airline found that the high number of canceled flights were the chief reasons for the low usage.
Eight-six percent of the 600 employees responding to the survey said they don't use Mesa because the flight schedule doesn't meet their travel needs. And the airline frequently canceled flights due to mechanical problems or the need for the aircraft on other Mesa routes.
"Mesa's standard for flight cancellations is three percent," said Tom Short of the Laboratory's Business Operations Division. "From January to March, Mesa did no better than 20 percent for any of those months."
During one month, Mesa cancelled 31 percent of its flights.
Sandusky said the Laboratory's contract with Mesa only covered airfares. The decision to eliminate service created no contractual obligations.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.