| Date of event | U.S. Department of Transportation order reported Sept. 3, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Primary location | South Arkansas Regional Airport, El Dorado |
| Key entities | U.S. Department of Transportation, Contour Airlines, Southern Airways Express, City of El Dorado |
| Outcome | Approved: 30-seat jet service to Dallas–Fort Worth, replacing 9-passenger Cessna Caravans |
EL DORADO — The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved Contour Airlines to fly 30-seat regional jets between South Arkansas Regional Airport in El Dorado and Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, Magnolia Reporter reported Sept. 3, 2025.
Contour replaces Southern Airways Express, which has held the Essential Air Service contract for El Dorado since May 2017. Southern flies single-engine, nine-passenger Cessna 208 Caravans. Contour flies the Embraer ERJ-135. Magnolia Reporter said flight time to DFW will drop to under an hour.
What the DOT Order Approved
- Program: Alternate Essential Air Service. The federal government pays the local government directly, instead of subsidizing an airline.
- Service: 12 scheduled, subsidized round trips on Contour’s 30-seat jets, per El Dorado’s application.
- Subsidy requested: $6,598,335 for the first year, with a 3.5% increase each following year.
- Connections: DFW links to the American Airlines network, with one-stop service to more than 100 cities, the order said.
- Competing bids: The DOT reviewed Southern Airways Express and Boutique Air before approving El Dorado’s request.
TSA Screening Returns to El Dorado
Jet service makes the airport a federalized passenger terminal. The Transportation Security Administration will return to screen passengers. The airport had already filed its Airport Security Plan and met TSA officials, the DOT order said.
Start Date and Schedule
Magnolia Reporter said service would begin Oct. 1, 2025, and that fares and schedules had not been announced. Contour later announced a March 16, 2026 start. See Contour’s El Dorado–Dallas jet schedule for the times and fares.
Travelers should check contourairlines.com or call Contour at (888) 332-6686 to book. More aviation and road news is in iSEARK roads and travel coverage and the El Dorado news archive.
Source: Magnolia Reporter, “Passenger jet service takes off from El Dorado in October” (Sept. 3, 2025, updated Sept. 15, 2025), summarizing the DOT order. Read the DOT order for primary detail.
