By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Starting Monday, travelers will be able to fly to Chicago from the Hays Regional Airport without changing planes.

Until now,  passengers have had to fly west to Denver International Airport, where they then had to board another plane to Chicago or other any other destination.

The eastbound flight has long been requested, especially by the local business community.

The additional flight is part of a new SkyWest contract at the Salina Regional Airport, according to Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty.

“Beginning April 9 also, we will be sharing, for lack of a better term, with Salina the Denver flights and the Chicago flight,” Dougherty said. “There’s more of an opportunity that plane could be full, which is a good thing. But that means you need to book early.”

The biggest advantage for passengers is “it’s quicker and more convenient,” said Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood. “There’ll be quick layovers in Salina but you won’t have to get off the plane.” Luggage will also remain on the airplane.

Wood said bookings on the 50-seat jets are filling rapidly with the addition of passengers boarding in Salina. “I’ve flown lots of times when there were just eight or so people on board. You can expect more people on the plane,” he added.

Flights can be booked online at www.united.com. The Chicago flight schedule is available at flyhays.com, along with the Denver schedule.

The city is hoping the new flight to Chicago will help increase boardings enough in 2018 to surpass 10,000. The last year that happened was 2011, when 10,912 passengers flew out of the Hays Regional Airport.

Passenger boardings in 2017 “just missed” the 10,000 mark, which would have made the city eligible for $1 million in airport funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. Otherwise, the city receives just $150,000 from the FAA annually.

According to a study by Volaire Aviation Consulting, the top three destinations from the Hays Regional Airport currently are Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix.