April 7, 2026: After strong January and February numbers of people flying out of the Pierre Regional Airport in 2026, the trend continued in March. City Commissioner Jamie Huizenga says the passenger numbers continue to show improvement over last year. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-c ontent/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/02/040826-huizenga1.mp3 SkyWest, flying as United Express, is the airline company that currently has the federal essential air service contract for the Pierre Regional Airport. They replaced previous EAS contract holder Denver Air Connection. Huizenga said area travelers are responding to last year’s switch from a regional commercial air carrier to a carrier with national and international connections through United Airlines. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/02/040826-huizenga2.mp3 The federal essential air service program provides a subsidy to the company providing service in order to maintain flight options at small airports around the country. If the Pierre Regional Airport surpasses the 10,000 boardings number within a year, it becomes eligible to receive $1-million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help support airport operations. SkyWest, flying as United Express, currently provides 12 weekly round-trip flights between Pierre and the Denver International Airport. SkyWest also serves the Watertown Regional Airport. From there, they provide Delta flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul, and United Express flights to Denver. . February 4, 2026: Over 400 more people flew out of the Pierre Regional Airport in January 2026 than did in January 2025. City Commissioner Jamie Huizenga said there were 1417 enplanements last month compared to 990 in 2025. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/02/020426-huizenga1.mp3 Pierre changed essential air service carriers in August, going from regional carrier Denver Air Connection to international company United Airlines, via SkyWest flying as United Express. Huizenga said the change has gone smoothly and they’ll continue to monitor passenger trends. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/02/020426-huizenga2.mp3 Huizenga said when looking at January boardings numbers over the past 29 years, this year’s activity was among the highest. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/02/020426-huizenga3.mp3 SkyWest/United Express currently provides 12 weekly round-trip flights between Pierre and the Denver International Airport. ...read more read less