The US Department of Transportation is requesting proposals from air carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service (EAS) at Hibbing, Minnesota, for a new subsidised or unsubsidised contract term beginning June 1, 2027. Interested parties must file proposals no later than December 2, 2026.

The incumbent carrier in this EAS market is SkyWest Airlines (OO, St. George Municipal), which currently operates, on behalf of Delta Air Lines as Delta Connection, 12x weekly roundtrips from Hibbing to Minneapolis St. Paul International using 50-passenger CRJ550s, 65- to 69-passenger CRJ700s or 76-passenger CRJ900 aircraft, receiving a current subsidy rate of USD8 million. It entered the present three-year contract on June 1, 2024.