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WILLIAMSTOWN — Contour Airlines will continue to provide service to the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport until next year while the federal Essential Air Service contract will be rebid.

In an order dated Sept. 12, available on Regulations.gov, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) said it was vacating the selection of Air Wisconsin Airlines to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at the airport and selected Contour Airlines to provide interim service from Oct. 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026, or until a replacement airline can be put in place, whichever occurs first.

Tennessee-based Contour has been flying between the Mid-Ohio Valley and Charlotte, N.C., with stops in Beckley, aboard 30-seat planes since December 2018 and is now contracted to continue operations there until the end of April.

Airport Manager Ben Auville said the important thing is that service will continue.

“That is the bigger concern,” he said. “If there was no service then we don’t have an airline operation.

“Continuing with Contour is still keeping service here at the airport until they get another provider.”

Officials with Air Wisconsin, who was originally awarded the federally-subsidized EAS bid in August, informed the USDOT last week it has withdrawn from providing commercial service at the airport which was scheduled to begin on Oct. 1.

In its order, the USDOT is asking for the EAS contract to be bid on again.

“Given the time that has passed since the previous proposals for EAS at Parkersburg were submitted, the Department believes it is prudent to give air carriers an opportunity to submit new proposals,” the order said, adding those proposals needed to be filed with the USDOT no later than Sept. 29, 2025.

In April, Air Wisconsin, Utah-based Breeze Airways, Contour, Colorado-based Denver Air Connection and Utah-based SkyWest Airlines all submitted bids for the EAS service at the local airport with SkyWest submitting two bids. Air Wisconsin was originally awarded the federally-subsidized EAS bid in August. The next lowest bidder behind Air Wisconsin was SkyWest.

Auville said they are hoping for another good batch of bids to come in.

“We are hoping to get the same type of turnout there,” he said.

Auville has submitted questions to the USDOT to see what they will be looking for in these new bids as this posting for bids was not the same as the original.

“We have questions out there to know why,” he said. “It is all speculatory as to why it might be different this time than last time.”

Auville said he wasn’t sure if the first bids had a time limit on them or if they had expired as opposed to just going to the next provider on the original bid list. He also asked if there are requirements in the new bid specifications that might disqualify a provider and would the airport be able to get a waiver to allow them to bid.

“Those are questions out there,” Auville said.

As of Tuesday morning, he had not heard anything back from the USDOT in regards to his questions. In the past, airport officials have asked for assistance from West Virginia’s Congressional delegation to get in touch with specific people within the USDOT.

He wants to talk to officials with the USDOT so he can keep people and officials in the local area informed about what is happening.

“It is hard for me to communicate to the public with what is going on when DOT doesn’t talk,” Auville said. “There are questions.

“We want everyone who bid before to bid again. It is best for the airport when you have the most competition and you want the bidding process to work.”

Wood County Airport Authority President Bill Richardson Jr. said the choice to rebid the contract and the ultimate selection of the provider is out of the local authority’s hands.

“We can only make a recommendation, but the government makes the final binding decision,” he said. “All we can do is ‘follow orders,’ to quote a term.”

Richardson said the most important thing is to have “safe and reliable service.”

“We are delighted Contour has agreed to extend its contract so they will continue to provide service to the airport,” he said.

Richardson hopes all of the other bidders who originally placed bids will do so again and hopefully have a few new ones who will put in a bid.

“”The most important thing for the public to know is that there will be air service from Parkersburg,” he said.

Email messages to Contour about their continuing service at the airport and whether they are planning to place another bid as well as to SkyWest to see if they are planning to bid again were not immediately returned Tuesday.