Cedar City officials worry about later flights

CEDAR CITY -- Cedar City officials are concerned that later flights to Utah's capitol city will reduce passengers at the municipal airport.

The Spectrum of St. George reports that SkyWest Airlines is changing the first flight from Cedar City to Salt Lake City from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Airport manager Russ Volk says the earlier flight is a primary reason why the number of yearly passengers increased from 6,000 to 8,500 in 2011. If the airport reaches 10,000 passengers, it qualifies for $1 million in federal funding for improvements.

Volk says the early flight allows passengers to make cross-country flights and helps business people attend weekday meetings in Salt Lake.

SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow says the flight schedules are based on many factors, including fleet management and connecting routes.