$575K grant to be used to lure daily airline service to local airport

October 19, 2007 at 2:31p.m.

VIENNA — The Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport will take additional steps to return regularly scheduled daily airline service to the Mahoning Valley now that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the airport a $575,000 grant.

Steve Bowser, director of aviation at the local airport, said he learned Friday the airport’s application to the Small Community Air Service Development Program had been approved. U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, helped secure the grant.

Bowser applied for $800,000 through the program in the spring and expected to hear back by mid-summer. He said he doesn’t know why the process took much longer or why the amount approved was $225,000 less, but he’s not complaining.

“The bottom line is it’s a great seed for us to meet our goal of getting regular air service for the Mahoning Valley,” he said.

The money will be used as revenue guarantee to entice a regional airline to offer daily service from the local airport to a hub such as Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Columbus or Cincinnati, Bowser said.

For the complete story, see Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.