SkyWest, flying as United Express, will stop providing commercial air service to the Pierre Regional Airport early next year.
Toward the beginning of this month (Oct. 7, 2021), the US Department of Transportation said it had rejected requests from SkyWest, Gov. Kristi Noem and the cities of Pierre and Watertown to rebid the federal essential air service contracts for the two communities.
At last night’s (Oct. 26, 2021) Pierre City Commission meeting, commissioner Jamie Huizenga said the last SkyWest flight will be January 3, 2022.
Huizenga says in December, SkyWest will cut back from two daily flights to Denver to one daily flight.
Despite early concerns brought about by very unreliable service from past regional commercial air carriers, Huizenga says Denver Air Connection has proven itself to be dependable.
SkyWest is also leaving Watertown. City Manager Amanda Mack says it was unreasonable to think the city could support two commercial airlines over the long haul.
Denver Air Connection’s Essential Air Service contracts for the Pierre and Watertown regional airports goes through May 2023.
You can see flight schedules for both Denver Air Connection and SkyWest, flying as United Express by going to either company’s website, to united.com or to the Pierre Regional Airport website.
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