Plans for the central Californian town of Modesto to resume scheduled commercial services have been unsuccessful, with Great Lakes Airlines (Cheyenne) deciding against providing the service. The airport and airline had been in talks since mid-2016 about launching a 3x daily Los Angeles International service, the airport's first since 2014. However, Great Lakes has withdrawn from negotiations citing a pilot shortage and the inability to gain an exemption authority for Beech 1900D aircraft.
Alongside Modesto, Great Lakes Airlines had planned to launch services to Stockton Metropolitan and San Diego McClellan Palomar, but news site The Modesto Bee reports that these will also not be launched.
Opportunity Stanislaus, an organisation dedicated to attracting economic investment to the Modesto and Stockton areas, told the Central Valley Business Journal earlier this year that Great Lakes Airlines had wanted help sourcing pilots, rather than airport subsidies or incentives to service the area. The Wyoming-based airline attended pilot-recruitment events in both Modesto and Stockton in January this year.
Modesto last had a scheduled carrier service in 2014, when SkyWest Airlines (OO, Salt Lake City) cancelled its 3x daily San Francisco service due to poor performance. The carrier was also affected by new federal laws which required ten hours rest for pilots between shifts. Nearby Stockton, just 39km to the northwest, has regular services to Las Vegas Harry Reid, San Diego International and Phoenix Williams Gateway provided by Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas Harry Reid).
