Posted on May 23, 2022
How one airline leaving small Kansas airports could deal a blow to the state's rural economy
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For Kansans living in Liberal, Dodge City and Hays, there’s only one airline that flies to and from the local airport. So when that airline filed paperwork this spring to terminate services, it sent shockwaves through these remote towns.
HAYS, Kansas — The COVID-19 pandemic hit air travel hard.
The number of canceled flights skyrocketed, airlines hemorrhaged billions in losses and a lack of passengers turned once-bustling airports into ghost towns.
For rural airports like the one in Hays — not bustling, but critical in their own way — the shutdowns hurt that much more.
At the height of 2020’s stay-at-home orders, just 29 people flew out of Hays Regional Airport in the entire month of April. Time and again, airport director Jamie Salter said, some planes would take off with no passengers at all.
HAYS, Kansas — The COVID-19 pandemic hit air travel hard.
The number of canceled flights skyrocketed, airlines hemorrhaged billions in losses and a lack of passengers turned once-bustling airports into ghost towns.
For rural airports like the one in Hays — not bustling, but critical in their own way — the shutdowns hurt that much more.
At the height of 2020’s stay-at-home orders, just 29 people flew out of Hays Regional Airport in the entire month of April. Time and again, airport director Jamie Salter said, some planes would take off with no passengers at all.
How one airline leaving small Kansas airports could deal a blow to the state's rural economy
Posted from kcur.org
Liberal
Dodge City
Hays
Flying
Economics
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“We don't have any intention of recommending to go with the bid that we received,” Salter said. “The capacity just doesn't meet our needs.”
So it appears increasingly likely that the federal government will continue to make SkyWest fly to these airports long after the airline’s proposed exit date, June 10.
If no suitable replacement airline steps forward, it’s possible SkyWest could be forced to continue some service to places like Hays until the end of its current contract in August of 2024.
“Everything is so up in the air right now as far as what that looks like in the future," Salter said. “Hurry up and wait, it seems is where we're at.”"
..."“We don't have any intention of recommending to go with the bid that we received,” Salter said. “The capacity just doesn't meet our needs.”
So it appears increasingly likely that the federal government will continue to make SkyWest fly to these airports long after the airline’s proposed exit date, June 10.
If no suitable replacement airline steps forward, it’s possible SkyWest could be forced to continue some service to places like Hays until the end of its current contract in August of 2024.
“Everything is so up in the air right now as far as what that looks like in the future," Salter said. “Hurry up and wait, it seems is where we're at.”"
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