Updated: 9/27/2012 6:45 P.M.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Thursday told Mid-Ohio Valley Airport officials Silver Airways will continue to provide subsidized passenger service for a new two-year term beginning October first.

That service, to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, began on October first, 2010, when Silver was known as Gulfstream Air.

The airport will get an annual subsidy of more than $2 million to provide that service.

Silver operates on a code-share agreement with United Airlines.

They've been flying out of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport this summer in record numbers.
1500 people have gotten on planes since the first of June.

The turnaround began nearly two years ago, when Silver Airways, then known as Gulfstream Air, began flights from Wood County to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The flights then were known as Continental Express, before becoming United Express earlier this year.

And the good news is, that service is expected to continue.

"We think we're the strongest airport in the system where Silver is currently flying," says Terry Moore, Airport Manager. "They've rebid our service for this year, and the airport authority has concurred with their bid. We've submitted that to the Department of Transportation, and we expect to have this service continue for another two years."

General avation traffic is also on the upswing.

The number of people flying dropped by a hundred during July, a change Moore says may have been because of the derecho.

But he says the airport remained open the weekend after the June 29th storm-on backup power-and all flights operated as usual.