Air service supporters turn out for event
McCOOK, Nebraska -- Community leaders, business owners and others, gathered at a packed McCook airport terminal Wednesday morning to show their support for local air service. The local air service provider at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport, Great Lakes Airlines, hosted the holiday open house and were very pleased with turnout.
"Every time we have one of these the community shows excellent support for us," said Great Lakes Airlines Regional Sales Manager, Mary Osborne.
The open house provided an opportunity for attendees to view a promotional video pertaining to the future of Denver International Airport. DIA developments already underway include the construction of a 500 room hotel located at the airport and a monorail system that will provide expedited transport to various parts of the city. Supporters of the McCook airport are hopeful that the potential to go from McCook, to a downtown Denver shopping mall within 90 minutes, will increase the number of passengers flying to Denver.
McCook Airport Advisory Board Members have expressed concern over the last year that a decreasing trend in passengers flying out of the airport will eventually lead to the loss of commercial air service.
"It's simply a matter of revenue," said board president Richard Stull during a February meeting. Stull attended the open house Wednesday and has been working with former Mayor Linda Taylor to spearhead support for an airline ticket rebate program that they hope will encourage more travelers to fly out of McCook.
The rebate amount has initially been proposed at $50 per ticket ($100 round-trip), however, airport advisory board members were in agreement that details of the program would need to be worked out.
Airport Advisory Board members agreed to approach a preliminary list of Red Willow County, the City of McCook, the McCook Economic Development Corporation, the Red Willow County Visitors Committee and Community Hospital, in hopes of collecting commitments for what is being estimated as $100,000 annually to fund the rebate program.