New airline at McKellar-Sipes Airport providing flights to Destin and Atlanta starting June 1st

JACKSON, Tenn. (WNBJ) - Southern Airways Express announced today that they will begin providing service to the McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport starting June 1st. 39 News talked to community members and the CEO of Southern Airways about the new service.

“Beginning on June 1st Southern will be operating three times a day between Jackson and Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. Also, on the weekends Fridays, and Sundays to Destin with a brief stop in Memphis,” said Stan Little, the Chairman, and CEO of Southern Airways Express.

The Chairman and CEO of Southern Airways Express talks about the wide variety of options Southern Airways will offer its customers.

“These three flights a day to Atlanta Hartsfield, the world's busiest airport, are really going to open up the world to Jackson. Being able to land right there and make connections to hundreds of cities with over 12-hundred flights a day out of Atlanta, I think is really going to be great for Jackson.”

One Jackson resident who is a McKellar Sipes frequent flyer says he is happy that Atlanta flights will still be available with the new airline company.

“I catch a flight out of Jackson going to Atlanta. You know Atlanta is one of the main hubs and it takes me wherever I want to go. It’s a convenience,” said Nick Widdle, a Jackson resident.

One Medina resident says the Destin, Florida flight gives her family a more convenient flight option.

“But we have considered actually taking a trip this summer to the Destin area so I think that having that available locally instead of having to travel to Memphis or Nashville would be really great. So, that would be something we would consider using,” said Renee Aeschlimann, a Medina resident.

Southern Airways Express says they expect to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 1st to celebrate the opening of the airline.