Illinois lawmakers are urging United Airlines to reconsider their decision to halt service at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield.
Senators Dick Durbin & Tammy Duckworth and 13th District Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski as well as Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder today spoke by phone with Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, about the company’s decision to cancel service at Capital Airport on June 1st.
All three lawmakers expressed their extreme disappointment in the Chicago-based airline to pull their service from Central Illinois. The Illinois Times reports that the cease of operations will have little effect on the job market, as many United employees in Springfield were part-time workers. The decision to pull out of Springfield comes just two months after United said they would be ceasing daily flight between Springfield and Dallas-Fort Worth.
All three lawmakers said they would be working in tandem in ways to continue to support Capital Airport and help it remain as a central hub for travel in Downstate Illinois.