United Airlines To Offer Chicago Service At Willard Airport In June

Willard Airport is welcoming back United Airlines after a two-decade absence. The airport serving Champaign-Urbana says United will begin flights between Willard and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, beginning June 8.

A Willard news release says the service will provide 150 additional seats each day between the two airports. The airline will fly three flights in each direction between Chicago and Champaign-Urbana. The airport plans to give out more details at a news conference Monday.

Currently, American Airlines' American Eagle service is the only passenger airline serving Willard Airport, with daily fights linking it to Chicago and Dallas. But the airport has struggled to bring in passenger service from other airlines.

Delta Express service between Willard and Detroit ended in 2010.  Flights to and from Florida on Atlanta-based Vision Airlines flew for just a few months in the winter of 2011-12.

Willard Airport, located in Savoy, south of Champaign, is owned and operated by the University of Illinois.