Air service between Chicago and downstate communities of Decatur, Quincy and Marion to return in February

Air Midwest will fly into Midway under I-Fly deal         

[NOV. 14, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced Nov. 6 that regular air passenger service to Chicago will be returning to the Decatur, Quincy and Marion markets in February 2007. The deal, worked out with state assistance through the I-Fly program, calls for daily flights to Chicago's Midway airport from the three downstate airports. Currently, the only air service at the three airports is to St. Louis.

"Increasing travel options between Chicago and downstate communities will boost our case as we continue urging businesses to look at expanding and locating in Illinois," Blagojevich said. "We doubled the number of state-sponsored Amtrak trains, and now we're bringing back air service to Chicago for these three airports. Having these options is good for business, it's good for families, and it's good for anyone traveling in Illinois."

The deal that allows for expanded air service for Decatur, Quincy and Marion is possible through funding in the I-Fly program. The program was created in 2003 but had never been funded. Under the fiscal 2007 budget, Blagojevich and members of the General Assembly agreed to include $1.65 million in I-Fly program funding to restore air service between Chicago and these three downstate communities.

Air Midwest is scheduled to begin air service from Decatur, Quincy and Marion to Chicago's Midway airport beginning Feb. 1, 2007. Three flights will be scheduled during the week and two on weekends. In addition to the Chicago service, there will also be a round-trip flight each day between Quincy and Kansas City. Air Midwest will use Beech 1900s, which are turboprop planes capable of carrying 19 passengers per flight.

The I-Fly program is intended to provide incentives to airlines to begin operations in underserved Illinois airports. The Illinois Department of Transportation will provide grants to the airports in Decatur, Quincy and Marion in order to guarantee a certain amount of revenue to Air Midwest for each flight. The local airports will be required to provide a 20 percent match.

The goal of the program is to provide an initial subsidy to bring airlines to underserved airports to initiate service, and then to work cooperatively with the local communities to help the service become self-sufficient. All three airports currently have air service to St. Louis provided by RegionsAir, a federally subsidized service. Air service from Quincy to Chicago stopped during 2003, from Decatur in 1999, and Marion has not had any service other than to St. Louis since 1986.

[News release from the governor's office]