Daily airport air service in sight

Daily airport air service in sight

VIENNA

Negotiations are finally moving in the direction of restoring daily air service to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, the airport’s director reported Wednesday.

The Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport, authorized Dan Dickten, director of aviation, to continue negotiations with Gulfstream International of Fort Lauderdale.

The airline could start up flights between the local airport and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport as early as the first three months of 2012, Dickten said.

Gulfstream operates more than 100 scheduled flights daily to and from airports in Florida, the Bahamas, Montana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Among the airports in the region offering Gulfstream flights are Franklin, DuBois and Bradford, Pa.; Jamestown, N.Y.; and Parkersburg, W.Va.

The Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport would provide Gulfstream with a revenue guarantee to start up the service. Two-thirds of the guarantee would come from a $575,000 U.S. Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program grant the airport received in October 2007.

To start, Gulfstream International would offer two flights per day Monday through Friday, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.