A two-year effort has landed legislation into law to increase the number of direct flights between Oklahoma airports and premiere destination cities.

Senate Bill 1461, by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, and Representative Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, created the Oklahoma Air Service Development Grant Program, which will be administered by the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

Rosino along with OAC and the Department of Commerce have been propelling this initiative since the fall of 2019 when a group of aviation industry leaders met to explore a state partnership with commercial airports and communities to attract new direct routes, which would bolster economic development efforts for communities and the entire state.

From there, several bills were introduced, and an interim study was held in the summer of 2020 before the final language agreed upon by numerous industry stakeholders was passed