The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) has approved the selection of SkyWest Airlines to provide service to Paducah's Barkley Regional Airport. The carrier is set to provide service to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) only.
An order dated Sept. 26 from the DoT, stated that SkyWest would fulfill the Essential Air Services contract from Dec. 1, 2025, through Nov. 30, 2029. The airline would provide 12 weekly round trips to the Chicago airport in Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded SkyWest Airlines, operating as United Express, the Essential Air Service (EAS) contract for commercial air service at Barkley Regional Airport (PAH).
According to Barkley Regional Airport, under the four-year contract, SkyWest would operate CRJ-200 aircraft to the airport in Illinois.
Under this four-year agreement, SkyWest will operate CRJ-200 aircraft to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). Passengers at Barkley Regional Airport will benefit from United Airlines’ codeshare network, which maintains convenient one-stop connectivity to numerous destinations nationwide and globally.
The Chicago and Houston airports were included in one of SkyWest's original proposals to Barkley, and gathered strong support from area residents, the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, and elected officials including Paducah Mayor George Bray. The DOT excluded Houston in its recent approval order, citing cost effectiveness.
The DOT's order summarized five factors it considers when choosing an airline provider for an EAS contract: reliability of the airline; arrangements made with a larger airline carrier; preferences of the airline's users, including elected officials in the area an airport services; the ability to market its services to the community; and the total compensation proposed by the airline to provide service.
The order described that SkyWest's proposal of service to ORD "aligns well with each of the required statutory factors the Department is required to consider." The order emphasized the strong community support shown for SkyWest's service proposal.
The order acknowledged that community support favored the proposal with service to ORD and IAH, but stated that the proposal with service only to ORD is "the most cost-effective while still providing excellent connections to the national air transportation system."
It added further that the total number of weekly flights to ORD and aircraft types in use would remain the same, while it also "reflects a savings of more than $3 million... over a four-year term" when compared to the service proposal that included IAH.
Barkley Regional Airport's contract with its operational carrier, Contour Airlines, ends November 30. That carrier provides service from Barkley to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.
Barkley Regional Airport Executive Director Dennis Rouleau said in a a statement,
“Congressman Comer’s support throughout this process has been invaluable to our community. Having worked with many federal elected officials over the years, I can attest that Congressman Comer and his team are consistently excellent partners and highly effective in their efforts.”
Rouleau added further,
“Our proposal included both Chicago and Houston, and we have been assured by SkyWest that they will service both markets utilizing a CRJ-550 within the approved subsidy. We are working diligently to finalize these arrangements. We appreciate the DOT’s decision and our partners’ support, and we will continue to work to confirm both Chicago and Houston air service. We remain confident that the DOT will allow this change.”
On transition of service, the DOT's order stated that both SkyWest and Contour will work together to provide service for Paducah customers without interruption. Contour is set to notify any travelers with reservations set after its service end date and, if requested, refund the price of their ticket.
The Essential Air Service contract aims to guarantee access to commercial flights for small communities. SkyWest provided service to Barkley Regional Airport from 2010 until mid-2022, when the airline discontinued service to 29 airports with EAS contracts. At the time, the airline cited ongoing effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and a pilot shortage as among reasons it discontinued service.
Contour Airlines began its service at the West Paducah airport starting Dec. 6, 2022. Ahead of the end date with Contour, Barkley sought proposals from new airlines and announced five service proposals in June.
On May 20, 2025, the DoT had issued Order 2025-5-9, requesting proposals from air carriers interested in providing EAS at Paducah.
American Airlines, Inc. d/b/a American Eagle (American), Air Wisconsin, Inc. (Air Wisconsin), Contour, Key Lime Air Corporation d/b/a Denver Air Connection (DAC), and SkyWest had submitted proposals for consideration.
On June 24, 2025, the Department requested comments from the community of Paducah on this EAS carrier-selection case.
In response, by letter dated July 10, 2025, Mr. Dennis Rouleau stated:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Barkley Regional Airport Authority, we are pleased to submit our unanimous recommendation to the U.S. Department of Transportation in support of SkyWest Airlines, operating under a United Airlines codeshare agreement, as the next Essential Air Service (EAS) provider for Barkley Regional Airport (PAH).
Display Picture Courtesy: Barkley Regional Airport
