NATCHEZ, Miss. – Airport Director Richard Nelson said another airline has expressed interest in coming to Natchez-Adams County as local officials continue trying to bring commercial passenger service back to the area.
The city and county was awarded a $750,000 federal grant last July that’s considered an essential subsidy to attract an airline. While some predictions then had regularly scheduled air-passenger service starting as early as last October, that hasn’t materialized.
“It’s still a process – a slow process,” Nelson told the Adams County Board of Supervisors on Monday as they discussed their pursuit of an airline that’s been ongoing intensively since 2021.
While several regional airlines have been involved in the discussions, Nelson said a “new player” has emerged: SkyWest Airlines. The Utah-based company has planes flying throughout North America in partnership with larger airlines.
The Natchez-Adams County Airport has been without regular airline service for three decades. It had commercial passenger planes landing here between the early 1950s and late 1980s and again briefly in the mid-1990s, according to the airport’s historical records.
The $750,000 grant Natchez-Adams County received in 2022 from the Federal Aviation Administration is being combined with $500,000 in city-county money. It’s a “risk-mitigation” subsidy to help cover start-up costs for initiating service and ensure an airline makes money bringing planes to the Natchez-Adams County area.
A prime source of plane passengers could be those coming here to make movies, take riverboat trips and tour the area, according to those promoting the need for airline service.
Plans have been discussed for American Cruise Lines to fly passengers to Natchez to board its riverboats that dock here. Natchez has had several TV and movie productions done here in recent years with hopes for more to come.
The pursuit of an airliner comes as various structural improvements have been made in recent years at the airport to enhance its capacity to accommodate commercial airplanes. The work has been partly paid for with $3.8 million in federal funds received for resurfacing runways.
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