The Quad City International Airport Aviation Director Bruce Carter says the airport is in talks with United Airlines to do a direct flight to Washington D.C.
Carter confirmed the information at the Rock Island County Airport Authority Board meeting on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Carter says the airport has a draft contract with United Airlines to do the direct flight to Washington D.C.
The airport received a $1.5 million grant in 2014 for the next three years in order to get an airline to do the flight. But the grant is not in Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's 2016 fiscal year budget, according to a spokeswoman from his office.
"It depends on if they're making money," Carter said when asked about an airline's commitment to the flight. "That's what it amounts to. You would hope that once the service is associated and gets started, more people would be attracted to a non stop flight to Washington Dulles, but you just never know until you get the service started and see what people want to do when it comes to their booking techniques."
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's Office says the flight is still 'under review' because of the state's spending freeze on all 'non essential spending.'