With local dignitaries on board, Contour Airlines made its inaugural flight out of Bowling Green Monday.
Before boarding the 30-seat plane bound for Atlanta, anxious passengers passed through a temporary terminal building that included TSA screenings. The terminal building was one of several infrastructure upgrades that were made to accommodate the first commercial service out of Bowling Green in 44 years.
Just before boarding, Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said he’s excited about commercial service and what it could mean for economic development.
"Many of the industries here look for direct to a major airport, and this I think, will give us a leg up on the next opportunity to bring a business to town," Wilkerson commented.
Tennessee-based Contour Airlines announced in May that it would begin offering daily trips to Atlanta and seasonal flights to Destin, Florida. A consultant’s study found that people living in a ten-county region in southern Kentucky purchased 720,000 tickets in 2013, with 96% of the flights departing out of Nashville. Local leaders hope Kentucky can recoup some of the tax dollars being lost to Tennessee.
