YRA Safe from State Cuts for Now

Yellowstone Regional Airport will not be impacted this year by the budget cuts at the legislature.

Senator Hank Coe of Cody says that although the Wyoming Department of Transportation was taken out of the state’s general fund distribution this year, the legislature authorized fee increases that will take up the slack and will allow funding for programs like the air service enhancement program at Yellowstone Regional Airport to continue.

Bob Hooper at YRA says that last year, the Cody Yellowstone Air Service group secured the state’s portion of the air service enhancement funding that meets the Revenue Guarantees necessary for this year.

There’s one flight a week to Chicago through United Airlines that is covered under the Air Service Enhancement program, which runs for just 10 weeks from June through mid-August, during YRA’s peak season.

Hooper says that the program has provided another option for summer visitors to fly into Cody, and has performed as expected.

Hooper says that the applications for air service enhancement funding for 2018 won’t be considered by the state until May of this year.