Cape celebrates first direct flight to Nashville

Tuesday started a new era of air travel in Southeast Missouri.

The first Contour Airlines flight from Cape Girardeau to Nashville International Airport took place, and a group of airport board members, area leaders and local media, including a Southeast Missourian reporter, were among the first to participate in the inaugural 34-minute flight.

The new flight to Music City comes following a change in air carriers. Cape Girardeau previously enjoyed air service to Chicago via SkyWest. However, the company terminated its service agreement with Cape Girardeau, along with several other communities, leaving the city with a decision to make on a new carrier. Cape Girardeau leaders ultimately decided on Contour Airlines, which will provide 12 flights a week from Cape Girardeau to Nashville, Tennessee.

"Today is a proud and exciting day for me and for Contour. (I) kinda feel I'm finally getting to go out with the girl that played kind of hard to get," Contour CEO Matt Chaifetz said prior to the first flight.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Stacy Kinder, who was on the flight, spoke highly of the experience and was bullish on the opportunity this will give the city for outbound tourism as well as attracting those from Nashville to Cape Girardeau.

Having this level of air service locally is a real plus for business and leisure travel. Prior to the pandemic, the Cape Girardeau to Chicago flight was doing quite well -- surpassing 10,000 annual passenger boardings, which was a key number for additional federal funding for the airport.

COVID-19 certainly hurt the travel industry and Skywest's operation in Cape Girardeau. But it's coming back. Cape Girardeau, with the investments being made at the airport, is poised for success. We're excited for Contour to succeed in this market, and having a direct flight to Nashville could lead to many benefits for our region.