MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — Meridian Regional Airport is looking for a new airline to fly passengers in and out of its facility after SkyWest Airlines announced it intended to end service.
SkyWest Airlines, in a statement Wednesday, said it planned to end service at 29 regional airports, including Meridian, due to a nationwide pilot shortage. Meridian Regional Airport President Tom Williams said the announcement was not unexpected, and the airport was already searching for alternative carriers, The Meridian Star reported.
“We’re already working on alternatives,” Williams said. “Fortunately, we’ve got the top air service consultant in the country working with us and he had alerted us the pilot shortage could trigger something like this.”
Williams said SkyWest has agreed to continue operations in Meridian until a new carrier was found. That process could take until the end of the year, he said.
“We expect no changes in the next 90 days, although efforts will be underway to identify a replacement carrier that best meets Meridian’s passenger needs including our military passengers,” he said. “The transition process could take until the end of the year and SkyWest has committed to do their best to serve us until that transition can smoothly occur.”
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