FORSYTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZMQ) – The plan was to have this ticket counter busy with travelers heading to Chicago, but unfortunately for some travelers, that plan has now been delayed. United Airlines was supposed to begin service to Chicago O’Hare Airport on May 21.
“United reached out and let us know that they are pushing back the planned service to Marquette from Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which pushed it back to October 25th. Unfortunately, that came from a ruling from the FAA,” said Airport Manager David Erhart.
The FAA has ordered airlines to cut about 300 flights a day after determining the airport was simply trying to handle too much traffic.
“Unfortunately, one of the flight routes that was affected was the planned launch, and Marquette is going to come in with three flights daily. They’re still committed. They’re still coming, but they did push it back to October 25th,” said Erhart.
At the heart of the issue is scheduling. Airlines packed O’Hare with more than 3000 daily flights during peak travel, days far beyond what the airport can reliably manage.
“But unfortunately, when it comes to, you know, the FAA, for the airline itself, it’s a lot of things that are out of our hands,” said Erhart.
There is some good news. American and Delta usually increase service to Sawyer during the summer tourist season.
“Normally, we’ll step down a little bit in service over the winter, when traveling is less common, and step up in the summer, when we really do see a big influx of tourists, or just people going on vacation. The FAA says the reduction in flights is temporary, but they’ll stay in place through the peak summer season.
