Resident urges board to press for SkyWest after Contour’s exit, cites job and revenue losses
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Summary
A public commenter urged the Kent County Airport Board to pursue SkyWest and complain to SkyWest about promised jobs after Contour said it would not continue service; the board said DOT will decide EAS selection in 30–60 days and that staff has been in contact with potential carriers.
A resident during public comment said they were disappointed the board had not engaged with Contour and urged officials to pursue SkyWest, citing lost jobs and local spending.
The resident said the airport “let 4 full time employees go, 3 part time employees go, and 1 full time mechanic” and estimated the community would lose “about $18,000 a month” if Contour did not continue service. The commenter said they had hoped the board would negotiate to keep the carrier and worried about the local economic impact of fewer overnight crews, rental cars and hotel stays.
Board members acknowledged the public comment and discussed the pending federal review under the Essential Air Service (EAS) process. Airport leadership (S4) said the public comment period has closed and that the U.S. Department of Transportation would have “30 to 60 days” to make a determination on carrier selection. “We followed a process. We did our due diligence, and now DOT ultimately makes the call,” S4 said.
S4 also told the board the subcommittee has been talking to SkyWest and said, if DOT selects SkyWest, the board will press the carrier to preserve as many local jobs as possible and to overnight aircraft in the community where appropriate. “We have talked to SkyWest about that pretty regularly,” S4 said.
The board did not take a formal vote at the meeting. The next procedural step is the DOT decision on the EAS docket; board members said staff will pursue outreach with interested carriers and report back at the county commission meeting the following day.
Why it matters: Commercial service choices affect airport employment, overnight stays and local spending; city and county officials said they want to protect jobs and the ancillary revenue that accompanies scheduled flights.
