Enplanments drop over 47%

McCOOK, Neb. — Boutique Airline enplanements at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport dropped by 47.09 percent in March compared to last year and deplanements didn’t do much better, dropping by 41.04% compared to March 2021.

Boutique Airline is the federally subsidized Essential Air Service airline at the McCook airport. It provides daily flights to and from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colo. Its contract ends in May and in June, a new essential air service airline,  Denver Air Connection, a subsidiary of Key Lime Air Corporation, will provide daily flights to Denver’s airport. There were 91 passengers that enplaned at the McCook airport in March, compared to 172 in March of 2021. Total first-quarter enplanements dropped by 28.68%, with 291 passengers this year from January-March and 408 in March 2021.For deplanements, there were 102 passengers in March this year, compared to 173 in March 2021. First-quarter totals for deplanements, from January-March of this year, decreased by 23.52% compared to first-quarter totals in 2021. Of the 54 flights scheduled to fly from McCook to Denver in March, 39 were flown, with one canceled for weather and 14 for “other.” Of the 54 flights scheduled to fly from Denver to McCook last month, 41 were flown, with one canceled for weather and 12 canceled for “other.”