Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Brings Back SkyWest Airlines

The Chippewa Valley Regional Airport officially has a new service provider, with SkyWest Airlines returning with daily flights to Chicago.

In July, the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Commission voted in favor of the SkyWest Airlines service proposal. Currently, the airport is served by Sun Country Airlines whose contract will expire on November 30. The commission voted 6 to 1 to recommend moving forward with SkyWest Airlines.

SkyWest Airlines had previously operated out of the airport in 2022, but left amid a shortage of pilots. Sun Country Airlines was selected to replace them.

Sun Country Airlines also submitted a proposal to remain as the service provider at the airport going forward. Their proposal would have offered three flights each week to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with rotating seasonal destinations. Their proposal also included a significantly larger plane with the smaller number of total flights.

On Wednesday the United States Department of Transportation decided to follow the recommendation of the airport commission and announced that SkyWest Airlines would resume service in the Chippewa Valley. The airline will offer 12 non-stop roundtrip flights each week to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. While their service will offer more flights, their planes will only seat about 50 passengers compared to the 186 seats on the Sun Country Airline flights.

According to a WQOW report, airport officials cited the lower cost and the more frequent service as the reason they recommended SkyWest Airlines. They also say Sun Country Airlines has agreed to continue their seasonal flights, with service to Fort Myers, Florida from January 31 to April 7.