(Hollister, Missouri – August 8, 2022) The Branson Airport will receive funding to fulfill a long-term strategic goal toward developing and marketing nonstop service to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) on Sun Country Airlines, thanks in part to a $500,000 Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Airport Executive Director Stan Field stated, “Our community is grossly underserved with access to airline routes. We are very appreciative the U.S. Department of Transportation chose the Branson Airport for this grant award. We have had significant talks with Sun Country about bringing service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Branson. These grant funds will help greatly in negotiating and completing the deal with the airline. This route, combined with Frontier’s current flights between Denver and Branson, will bring more visitors to our market.”
Field also commented, “A big thank you to Congressman Long and Senator Blunt for their support and advocacy, as well as our local elected officials and business leaders.”
“Branson is a national tourism market that is deserving of low-cost air service,” said Branson Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau President/CEO, Jason Outman. “Grants such as this help support the establishment and marketing of quality air service from many of our target visitation markets, such as Minneapolis-St. Paul, one of our top markets outside of 600+ miles. Making our region more accessible and affordable for arrival by air is a key to moving the visitor needle economically.”
Over the next several months the Branson Airport staff, in coordination with various community stakeholders, including the Branson/Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Transportation Development District (TDD) and Taney County Partnership’s Airport Advisory committee, will work toward securing new air service, made available by the grant, with a target to launch as early as 2023.
As part of qualifying for the grant, community matching funds of $400,000 are required, making a total of $900,000 available for marketing and air service support.
Follow Branson Airport on their social channels and at FlyBranson.com
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Media Contact: Ty Lewis – Deputy Director of Marketing
tlewis@flybranson.com
417-676-0081
About the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) – Branson is one of 25 communities across the country receiving a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Small Community Air Service Development Program. It is a vital tool for small markets to develop and secure air service opportunities unique to their communities. The Department received 48 applications.
