United Departs 11 Underserved U.S. Airports for Final Time

The New Year celebrations have come and gone and while some are still coming out of the weekend celebrations in a good mood, employees and passengers in 11 cities are likely not too thrilled. United Airlines, more specifically United Express, will be cutting services from their respective cities.

Kalamazoo and Lansing, Mich.; Columbia, Mo.; College Station, Texas; Evansville, Ind.; Monroe, La.; and Twin Falls, Id. all had their final United flights depart to the airline’s various hubs in the early morning between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. local time on Monday.

The four cities of Kileen, Texas; Wausau, Wis.; Pierre, S.D. and Watertown, S.D. will see their final United departure Monday evening between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time.

Watertown and Pierre, S.D. are being dropped as SkyWest – a United Express operator – lost the Essential Air Service (EAS) contract in both cities to Denver Air Connection. The decision to drop the other cities is due to “changes in the long-term sustainability” of the routes, all of which are operated on regional jets such as the ERJ-145 and the CRJ-200.

Twin Falls, College Station, Watertown, Pierre, and Killeen will all be left with only a single carrier serving them once United has departed for the final time. Although the airline didn’t say it would be leaving the 11 cities permanently, it did say it would be indefinite.

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Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself, the first thing he did with his driver's license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 2022 with a B.S. in Aviation Management & Operations and a Minor in Business, and currently works for a major airline in his hometown.

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