HOUGHTON — SkyWest Airlines has indicated it intends to bid on servicing Houghton County Memorial Airport in the new round of Essential Air Service bids, Airport Manager Dennis Hext told the Houghton County Board Wednesday night.

Bids are due Oct. 13 for the next cycle of EAS service, which would cover two years starting Feb. 1, 2023. The federal program provides subsidies for airlines to provide service to rural markets that would otherwise be without a carrier.

SkyWest gave a 90-day notice of intent in March to pull out of EAS flights at Houghton and 30 other airports, citing a shortage of pilots.

The Department of Transportation prevented the withdrawal, ordering SkyWest to provide 12 flights a week until another carrier signed on.

In June, the Houghton County Board rejected SkyWest’s request to reduce service at the airport. SkyWest had proposed to drop to one flight a day until it could be certified to fly with planes of 30 seats or fewer.

SkyWest now provides two flights a day on a 50-seat regional jet.

The current contract with SkyWest expires on Jan. 31. Even if SkyWest doesn’t bid, the airport will still have service after that date, Hext said.

“There’s rumors flying around town that SkyWest is leaving on the 31st of January,” Hext said. “That’s a rumor — they’re not leaving.”

If there are no bids, the federal Department of Transportation will issue a hold-in order month-to-month until a new carrier takes over.

The airport has been in the EAS program since 2010, when previous carrier Mesaba Airlines withdrew from the market. SkyWest has provided EAS service with flights from Houghton to Chicago since then.