Local leaders on Thursday expressed growing optimism that efforts to return daily air service to Dubuque Regional Airport are “gaining traction.”

Matt Skinner, an air service consultant hired by the Dubuque airport, told a crowd of roughly 75 people Thursday that recent conversations between local representatives and regional air carriers have shown promise.

“I’m not up here with some grand announcement yet, but I can tell you that serious progress has been made with some of these regional carriers to the point that we’re talking about finances and (possible) schedules,” Skinner said.

Skinner spoke Thursday at Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual air service forum, held at Hotel Julien Dubuque, to update chamber members on ongoing efforts to restore daily air service.

That service halted roughly 18 months ago when American Airlines ceased its Dubuque operations, and the subsequent drought of daily service has generated anxiety and concern from local business owners and the community at large.

The departure also prompted the formation of Dubuque Community Air Service Taskforce, a group of elected officials, chamber representatives and airport leadership hoping to bolster local service.

On Thursday, chamber president/CEO and task force member Molly Grover called daily air service an “expected amenity,” adding that its current absence inhibits Dubuque’s ability to “build and maintain economic momentum.”

“In the 21st-century global marketplace, daily air service is an absolute imperative,” Grover said. “We are not going to stop until we realize our goal of restoring that service to a major hub.”

Skinner, a principal with Global Flight Solutions, has worked closely with the task force toward that goal, operating as the group’s “boots on the ground” in conversations with national and regional carriers. On Thursday, he updated forum attendees on those efforts.

“COVID really upset the apple cart when it came to air service,” Skinner said. “And the last couple years, it’s been an all out dog fight, cage match … for the resources that airlines have out there.”

Fortunately, Skinner said, some positive indicators are beginning to emerge for the airline industry. Pilot shortages are easing, and passenger totals are on the rebound.

Many airlines also seem more open to establishing new routes, he added, which is a good sign for local officials.

“It’s not like (airlines are) saying, ‘Hey, let’s hit the gas, we’re open to anything,’ but there’s a much more positive flow of conversation from major airlines all the way down to the smaller airlines,” Skinner said.

Those conversations are underscored and supported by the quantifiable high demand for local air service, Skinner added.

A community survey on the topic was sent out late last year and drew responses from over 8,100 area residents and over 200 businesses.

Of those respondents, over 90% of residents expressed support for ongoing efforts to restore daily service overall. Roughly 70% of business respondents expressed support for the use of city and/or county funds to incentivize the restoration of that service.

That data is useful in showing potential carriers that there is a local demand and potential incentives for their services, Skinner said.

The forum also reviewed last year’s launch of local leisure flights through Avelo Airlines, which in March 2023 launched twice-weekly flights between Dubuque and Orlando, Fla., and in September added flights to and from Las Vegas.

The city of Dubuque and Dubuque County each contributed $500,000 to a minimum revenue guarantee agreement from which Avelo could pull to offset its initial investment in the community. The airline had withdrawn all of those funds by September.

Avelo’s Las Vegas flights were discontinued in January, and the Orlando flights soon will switch to a seasonal schedule, pausing in April before picking back up in November.

Despite those scheduling changes, Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh argued Thursday the city’s agreement with Avelo still “paid for itself” because it helped the city maintain more than 10,000 yearly enplanements — an essential number for securing federal funding.

In 2023, Dubuque Regional Airport recorded 19,022 enplanements — a post-pandemic record high enough to nab $1 million in federal funding and show a quantifiable demand for local service.

“Those (Avelo) passengers and those flights mean that we can continue to gain access to the federal funds we need to keep our airport moving in the right direction,” Cavanagh said. “They’ve been great partners.”