Manistee to offer passenger air service again

MANISTEE – Manistee Blacker Airport is hoping to soon offer airline service again. Last month its carrier, Aerodynamics, abruptly announced it was no longer providing service between Manistee and Chicago Midway Airport.

Russ Spencer of the Manistee Airport Authority spoke to the Ludington Rotary Club Thursday and explained that the authority is in negotiations with another airline and hoping to have service by Nov. 15.

He said the previous company has never formally informed Manistee that it is no longer providing service. Instead, the company sent an email to the Department of Transportation. As a result, Manistee has gotten a court ordered restraining order on the company, grounding its plane at the airport.

Spencer said the new service is also expected to make a daily 8 a.m. flight to Midway and then a return flight from Midway at 8 p.m. Central Time. There is a possibility that a connection from Midway to Ypsilanti will be added as well.

The new service is expected to start with a 19 passenger turbo propeller plane and then up sizing to a 30 passenger plane during the busier season. A few years ago, when Frontier Airlines was offering service, annual passenger counts were at 22,000. Manistee has offered service since 1961.