WASHINGTON COUNTY — Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hagerstown Regional Airport’s new commuter service to Baltimore, U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Maryland, said her support for the airport was all about creating jobs, but getting there provided plenty of work for her, as well.

“This airport has been like a soap opera,” said Mikulski, who joined U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Maryland, in fighting for a special waiver to make the airport eligible for federal funding through the Essential Air Service (EAS) program that is designed to link rural communities with the national transportation system.

Tuesday’s ceremony in the airport’s passenger terminal marked the two-week anniversary of service between Hagerstown and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport by Cape Air, which was made possible by the EAS subsidy.

Cape Air is receiving $1.2 million a year from EAS for serving Hagerstown, the airline has said.

In her speech at the ribbon cutting, Mikulski praised Cape Air, which she said has “an outstanding record of reliability of service and reliability of safety.”

In addition, Mikulski distinguished Cape Air from large, self-serving corporate airlines, calling it “community-oriented” and praising its commitment to equal opportunity for female employees.

Cape Air’s president and CEO, Dan Wolf, was flattered by Mikulski’s enthusiasm for his airline.

“Today, I fell in love again,” he said, gesturing to Mikulski, who stood up, grinning.

Wolf said Mikulski had accurately summed up “the heart and soul of what we do and why we do it.”

“We are in love with airplanes, but more than that, we’re in love with people, and I think you’ll experience that with us,” he said. “It is a very different company.”

To prove his point, Wolf offered the approximately 100 people at the ceremony free round-trip tickets to BWI so they could experience the service and spread the word. Some in attendance, including the senator, were unable to accept the offer because of ethics regulations.

The airport has not kept statistics on passenger counts for the Cape Air service, airport business manager Greg Larsen said after the ceremony. Some planes have been full and others have had only one passenger, he said.

More information on the Cape Air commuter service is available through the airport’s Web site at www.flyhagerstown.com and at Cape Air’s Web site at www.flycapeair.com.