Cape City Council puts airport board recommendation in holding pattern

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - Will passengers flying out of Cape Girardeau land in Chicago or Nashville?

That is the question before the Cape Girardeau City Council.

After a presentation by the Airport Board that recommended a new carrier, Contour, and a new destination, Nashville, the council decided to wait until the next meeting to vote on any recommendation.

One of the reasons for the delay is an email that Airport Manager, Katrina Amos, received from Skywest/United Express. The email stated that Skywest would rescind their termination notice on June 24th.

The process of finding a new carrier began when Skywest issued the termination notice earlier this year.

The council decided to wait on the vote.

It would give Skywest more time to elaborate on the latest proposal.

The city must make a recommendation to the Department of Transportation by June 30th.

Some of the proposed changes which Skywest has unofficially made include sharing planes with other cities such as Paducah and Decatur, IL. The reason this is not as attractive as other options would be the limited number of seats on the plane.

Airport Manager Katrina Amos says they have been pleased with Skywest in the past, but they are not sure about the future.

Several Skywest employees spoke out about the change saying the destination could also affect the flight experience with some passengers needing to go through security for a second time in Nashville.

The council voted 5-1 to move the vote till June 20th.

Tameka Randle was the dissenting vote.

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