Barkley Airport seeks input about possible future Florida and beach air service

Officials at Barkley Regional Airport are asking for your opinion on the possibility of a future nonstop leisure air service to Florida and other popular beach destinations.

In a news release Friday, Barkley's Marketing Manager Kat Byars said that since February, passenger demand has exceeded expectations to the airport's recently-added schedule to Chicago and Houston with United Airlines, operated by SkyWest. 

Those air service decisions by the board were aided by a customer survey taken in April of 2025.

Now the board of directors want to find out if the region could support air service to more leisure-focused destinations.

The Barkley Regional Airport Authority and the Louisville-based aviation consulting firm L.B. Schmidt & Associates have posted a survey to determine which destinations best fit the airport and build a stronger, data-driven case when speaking with airlines about future opportunities.

“The community played a pivotal role in our last air service survey, and that input helped guide one of the most important air service decisions Barkley has made in years,” said Dennis Rouleau, Executive Director of Barkley Regional Airport. “Now that our SkyWest-operated United Express service is off to a strong start, we want to build on that momentum and better understand what leisure destinations our region would genuinely support.”

The survey will remain open through Monday, August 24. Community members can participate in the survey by visiting FlyBarkley.com or click here .