WATERTOWN, S.D. (KWAT) — SkyWest Airlines is the recommended choice of the Watertown City Council to continue providing commercial air service to the city.

Airport Manager Todd Syhre says three bids were received for the service. They came from Skywest, Boutique Air, and Key Lime Airlines.

Syhre says SkyWest’s bid is superior, offering non-stop service seven days a week to Denver, and five days a week to Chicago on 50-seat jets, as they do now.

Daniel Belmont is a manager of network planning for SkyWest, and talked to the council about weathering the pandemic storm that has battered the airline industry.

Belmont was asked about the possibility of eventually expanding Watertown flights into Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The recommendation of SkyWest now goes to the U.S. Department of Transportation for final approval.

If the three year contract is approved, it would have a start date of May 1.