FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — Skywest Airlines will continue providing air service to Houghton County for another two years.

Under the terms of the contract, SkyWest will provide 14 round-trip flights a week to Chicago with a 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ-200.

SkyWest has served the airport since 2010 through the Essential Air Service program, which provides airlines with subsidies to service rural airports.

“SkyWest has done an excellent job of serving our community over the years considering the operational challenges faced at O’Hare and Hancock/Houghton,” Airport Manager Dennis Hext said in a letter to DOT endorsing the proposal.

SkyWest’s annual subsidy nearly tripled in the new contract, reaching $6.5 million.

In March, SkyWest filed a notice of its intent to terminate service at Houghton and 28 other communities. It cited the ongoing problems caused by staffing shortages. The Department of Transportation issued successive hold-in orders keeping SkyWest in service while a new contract could be put in place.

The DOT also issued a request for proposals from other airlines interested in providing service to Hancock.

Boutique Air submitted a proposal for 24 weekly flights with an eight- or nine-seat aircraft. The DOT rejected the proposal, which would have required the airport to waive its right to be served by a twin-engine aircraft. After the DOT put out another request for proposals, SkyWest submitted a proposal in October.

At Tuesday’s county board meeting, Hext said the FAA also finished its review of the scope clause for the new terminal project.

Boardings have been down slightly because of schedule changes put in place due to the pilot shortage, Hext said. Flights are leaving Houghton at 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the most recent schedule. The later flight, with fewer possibilities for connections, is averaging between 10 and 20 passengers, Hext said. The late afternoon flight will be on the current schedule through the end of March.

“As they get more pilots, it’ll fix itself eventually,” he said.