Legislative and business leaders urged voter support Tuesday for a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Lincoln and other communities in the state to offer an initial revenue guarantee as a new means of attempting to attract additional airline passenger service.
Nebraska confronts "a competitive disadvantage" with other states in which communities are already able to use such a tool in attracting additional airline service, Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln said during a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda.
The proposal, which will be on the ballot as Amendment 1 in the general election on Nov. 8, is vital for Lincoln and other communities to be able to attract people to "move here and stay here," Bostar said.
Lincoln's commercial airline service was sharply curtailed by the sudden loss of Delta Air Lines flights to Minneapolis and Atlanta, although United Airlines recently began daily flights to Houston in addition to its daily service to Chicago and Denver.
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Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn said Nebraska communities "have one hand tied behind our backs now" in terms of tools to attract additional airline service.
"The younger generation is not going to live where they don't have air service," she said.
Rep. Mike Flood of Norfolk, who supported the proposal as a state senator before his election to Congress in June, said additional air service is vital for Lincoln "in order to grow, provide quality of life and create more opportunities in our capital city."
Increased air service makes it "easier to recruit new businesses and people who want to live here," Flood said.
Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said additional commercial air service is necessary for the state to "become more competitive" in attracting and retaining businesses along with accompanying job opportunities.
Lincoln was the final stop on a statewide tour that also took advocates to Scottsbluff, North Platte, Grand Island, Kearney, Norfolk and Omaha.
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