The people of our city had every right to be disappointed when the last passenger plane service pulled out of here four decades ago.

Many people living here used that service for a number of reasons, but at the end of the day there simply weren’t enough passengers to sustain it in Bowling Green.

Since that time, citizens, political leaders and others have worked tirelessly to get another air carrier to locate here.

It was a very frustrating process for all involved. They were seeing many citizens of Bowling Green drive to Nashville and Louisville to get on airplanes.

Our hats go off to all of the people involved in trying to get airline service back to our city, because they never gave up on attracting a passenger commercial air service to our city.

They succeeded.

This summer, we learned that Smyrna, Tenn.-based Contour Airlines would be flying in and out of Bowling Green.

The airline offered several round-trip flights to Atlanta and to Destin, Fla., during the seasonal months.

Many in the community were filled with excitement and many still are excited about Contour offering this service.

It has been a hit with people in and around our community, but a recent announcement that the airline is cutting back on some of its flights is cause for concern.

On Nov. 1, the number of commercial flights to and from Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport to Atlanta were cut in half. The reason given was because of lower demand, to preserve funds used to subsidize the flights and because travel patterns are now clear 60 days into the new service.

The airport decided to cancel 1:15 p.m. Monday through Friday flights to Atlanta and 9:55 a.m. Monday though Saturday flights from Atlanta to Bowling Green, leaving one round-trip flight to Atlanta per weekday and Sunday. Flights leave Bowling Green at 6:15 a.m. Monday through Friday with a return trip from Atlanta at 4:15 Eastern time, arriving back in Bowling Green at 4:45 p.m. local time. There are no Saturday flights, and one flight on Sundays leaves at 2:30 p.m. with a return flight from Atlanta at 5:45 p.m. Eastern, arriving in Bowling Green at 6:15 p.m. local time.

After 60 days of operation and watching the trends in regard to people traveling on Contour, it is simply smart business to adjust these flights.

Our city has come a long way in getting air service here. We believe those involved have proven that an air service is needed. We are just hopeful that more people realize that and start using this convenient air service in our city. Because if people don’t start using it in sufficient numbers, it is likely – should Contour shut down its operation here – that it would be a long time before Bowling Green is ever considered for air service again.

That would be a real shame if that were to happen.