Delta Air Lines will resume flights between Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (CIRA) and Detroit Metropolitan Airport on February 6, 2022. The flights will operate six days per week on fifty seat CRJ -200 regional jets.
“This is wonderful news for our community and our region,” said Alan Sender, Chairman of the Bloomington Normal Airport Authority, which owns and operates the Central Illinois Regional Airport. “Detroit is an important market for the continued growth at Rivian and an equally important connection to the east coast and Europe for our business and leisure travelers.”
The airline industry has faced significant challenges related to COVID-19 in the last two years beginning with an abrupt decline in passenger demand in spring 2020 that had finally begun to recover in earnest this past summer. Throughout the pandemic, Delta has continually monitored demand trends and adjusted its flight schedules accordingly. The airline continues to bolster its network and add capacity in line with the return of demand.
“Collaborating with our partners at Rivian, we were able to clearly identify the ongoing need for the Detroit service to Delta. Rivian’s December announcement it will build its next manufacturing facility near Atlanta, Georgia, the location of Delta’s primary hub airport, highlighted the synergies between the three markets of Atlanta, Detroit and Bloomington-Normal,” continued Chairman Sender. “We are delighted the service will return sooner than expected.”
Central Illinois Regional Airport has offered continuous nonstop service on Delta Air Lines to Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport since 2005. The route and the airline are both popular with business and leisure travelers from throughout central Illinois with its access to the southern United States and connecting capabilities to the world. The Detroit/Bloomington nonstop service initially returned to the schedule at Central Illinois Regional Airport in October 2020.
