United Express Service to CIRA Delayed Another Year



On July 11, the Federal Aviation Administration extended its Chicago-O'Hare flight cap for another year. Central Illinois media took nearly two weeks to report the effects on United Express service to Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana. 

As expected, United Express must delay service to both cities by at least another year. Before the flight cap extension, four daily roundtrips were slated to begin on October 24. 

Bloomington-Normal's WGLT 89.1 FM radio reported the story here. Champaign-Urbana's WCIA Channel 3 reported the story for its viewers here. 

It seems that the FAA's flight cap will prevent service from starting to either city, and there is no longer a start date. The previous delays were frustrating to CIRA, as signage, staffing and ticketing were ready for the start of service when originally set to start on May 7. 

- David P. Jordan 

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