LA CROSSE, Wis. — There’s momentum to attract a new airline to serve La Crosse Regional Airport.

The La Crosse County Board recently approved up to $250,000 in funding to help.

That money will be used as a “Minimum Revenue Guarantee” to a new airline if ticket sales fall short during the first year.

This comes as the airport saw 3,000 fewer passengers in 2024 compared to 2023. In 2024, there were 58,000 fewer passengers compared to pre-pandemic in 2018.

Officials pointed to the departure of Delta Airlines as a partial reason for the decline. Delta ended all service in and out of La Crosse in 2023, leaving only American Airlines to service passengers.

But La Crosse resident Timothy Pierce said he still prefers flying in and out of the airport because of the short lines, small crowds and convenience.

“It’s very convenient to have this facility here and the ability to be able to just swing over here, drop them off and then go back to work,” said Pierce.

Many smaller, more rural communities in the country don’t want to lose their regional airports.

American, Delta and United Airlines combined have pulled out of nearly 75 regional airports since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Ailevon Pacific.

“The challenge is that a lot of people that are loyal to Delta are driving to Minneapolis,” said airport director Jeff Tripp.

Tripp said they are working hard to attract more flights and a new airline service. It’s an effort he said will take about $1.5 million.

“We’re able to weather the storm in the short term. So, we know that when we had the passenger numbers pre-COVID, it’s just trying to get back to those numbers,” said Tripp.

Pierce said he hopes leaders are successful, so it keeps travel easy for him and his family.

“That would be great to have some of those direct flights,” said Pierce.

“If you do not use your local airport and you lose the service, it’s much more difficult to bring it back,” said Tripp.

Two airline contenders that could potentially be added are Allegiant or Sun Country.