Commercial flights will soon be flying out of the Waterloo Regional Airport two times each day.

City officials announced Friday that American Airlines has decided to return to twice-daily service to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport next month. The one-hour, six-minute flights are scheduled to depart Waterloo at 6:30 AM and 12:52 PM, starting July 7.

“As the Mayor of Waterloo, I would like to say thanks to American Airlines for their decision to return Waterloo’s daily and two-departure schedule," Mayor Quentin Hart said. "As Waterloo and northeast Iowa continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, having a dependable flight schedule with frequency is a very important part for the bounce-back of the Cedar Valley economy.”

“In this very difficult time for the airline industry, the return of Waterloo’s new and twice-daily schedule is excellent news for the entire Cedar Valley for either business or leisure travel," Airport Director Keith Kaspari said. "Thank you, AA (American Airlines)!”

In a press release announcing the new departure schedule, airport officials expressed optimism that passengers throughout the Greater Cedar Valley region will support the service. They explained that a growing number of passengers would provide renewed confidence to officials at American Airlines that Waterloo can support the flight schedule, as published.

The flight schedule is as follows (effective July 7):


FLIGHT #DEPARTUREFROMTOARRIVINGFREQUENCY
40856:30 AMWaterlooChicago7:36 AMDaily
35479:56 AMChicagoWaterloo11:10 AMDaily
354712:52 PMWaterlooChicago1:59 PMDaily
33486:20 PMChicagoWaterloo7:35 PMTue.-Wed.-Thu.
33488:35 PMChicagoWaterloo9:46 PMSun.-Mon.-Thu.-Fri.

“I especially like the decision by American officials to provide a balanced schedule for both early morning and early afternoon departures, to allow for maximizing the number of flight connections once the aircraft arrives in Chicago," Kaspari said. "But also the return schedules with aircraft arrival times allowing for either business or leisure passengers to decide on what arrival time back to Waterloo works best in their travel schedule.”

For booking travel, contact American Airlines at 800-433-7300, or www.aa.com.

More From 97.7 KCRR