New Flights Take Off Thursday

Columbia Regional Airport is preparing for more flights set to start this week to two new destinations.On Thursday, American Airlines will start daily flights to Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. The flights come at a cost of losing another carrier.Mayor Bob McDavid says the new flights are doing well and people are booking ahead. Starting Wednesday though, Delta Airlines will discontinue their flights to and from the airport. The airline was providing daily flights to Atlanta, but Wednesday afternoon’s flight will be the last one.McDavid says American Airlines will be big for Columbia, providing new options for airline passengers and help to expand the airport.”This puts us directly into two of the biggest airports,” said McDavid. “So that means, you can get anywhere in the country or virtually in the world out of Columbia. It’s a big day for us.”That big day will come on Thursday and the mayor says the flights will be more profitable than the Delta flights to Atlanta.”Delta was cutting back on their flights by five percent, so we were vulnerable relying on their service,” he said. “This adds a lot of sustainability in the future of Columbia.”Travelers using the airport say they are excited about the new flights but had hoped that Delta would stay at the airport considering the University of Missouri’s transition to the Southeastern Conference.Since the new flights will bring in additional traffic, Columbia leaders are moving forward with plans for upgrades at the airport in order to accommodate the new flights.The airport recently launched a new website where travelers will be able to book tickets to Dallas, Chicago or Orlando directly from their computer or smartphone.