Passengers traveling out of Paducah’s airport could soon have two new destinations to fly to under a proposal its board of directors recommended in a meeting Tuesday.
Barkley Regional Airport Authority’s board of directors unanimously recommended that the U.S. Department of Transportation approve a proposal from SkyWest Airlines to provide direct flights from Paducah to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston through the federal Essential Air Services program. SkyWest was one of five airlines that submitted bids for Barkley’s EAS contract last month.
If the SkyWest bid receives DOT approval, the new routes would take off in December. The new flights would also replace the flights Barkley currently offers from Paducah to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mike Stone chairs the Barkley Blue Skies Alliance, a group that focuses on fundraising for the far western Kentucky airport. In a press release, he said the proposal allows for people to fly from Paducah to several international destinations with just one layover in between.
“This opens the door for the region to rejoin the global economy more directly. With one-stop access to destinations like Sydney, Australia, and countless others, we’re not just flying to bigger cities, we’re connecting the region to the world,” Stone said.
Paducah is one of two Kentucky communities with an EAS airport, the other being Owensboro. Under the program, the DOT helps to connect eligible communities in less densely populated areas to large hub airports primarily by providing federal subsidies to carriers.
Emily Roark, chair of the Barkley Regional Airport Authority Board, said SkyWest’s proposal restores “much-needed connectivity” options for the region.
“This recommendation is what the Essential Air Service program is all about, ensuring communities like ours have access to air travel that meets the expectations of today’s flying public,” Roark said in a release.
SkyWest’s offering includes six roundtrip flights per week to Chicago and six to Houston, both using a CRJ-550 50-seat aircraft. The routes would run through a codeshare partnership with United Airlines, meaning passengers can book flights directly from United’s website.
According to its bid submitted to Barkley Regional, SkyWest is seeking DOT approval for a four-year contract with incremental increases in subsidies. In the first year of the contract, the airline is asking for roughly $5.4 million. By the fourth year, that number would grow to a little over $5.8 million. The airline has also said it would dedicate $25,000 per year to marketing its Paducah air service.
SkyWest’s Chicago and Houston routes would replace Barkley’s current slate of flights operated by Contour Airlines. Under the airport’s current EAS contract, set to expire at the end of November, Contour offers 12 roundtrip flights per week between Paducah and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Contour began servicing Paducah in 2022 after SkyWest terminated its previous EAS agreement with Barkley Regional due to pilot shortages.
A formal decision from the DOT on Paducah’s EAS contract is expected in the coming months. Barkley Regional Executive Director Dennis Rouleau previously said the DOT has been receptive to recommendations from airport boards in the past – including in 2022 when the federal department approved Barkley’s current EAS contract. The airport has launched an online petition, which will be open through Monday, for community members to share support for SkyWest’s bid.
If the SkyWest bid receives federal approval, the airline is expecting to start accepting reservations in September for flights to and from Paducah in December.
