United Express, operated by SkyWest Airlines Inc., is reducing its Fort Dodge service from 12 round trips per week to 10.

A flight between Fort Dodge Regional Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport will be cut on Sundays and Mondays, according to Rhonda Chambers, director of aviation at the local airport.

On Sundays and Mondays, there will always be a roundtrip United Express flight between Fort Dodge and Denver International Airport in Colorado.

Fort Dodge is one of 18 cities in which SkyWest Airlines is reducing service. In a filing with the US Department of Transportation, airline officials blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the cuts.

“Although SkyWest Airlines Inc. would prefer to continue to provide scheduled air service to these communities at 12 flights per week, the staffing imbalance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is hampering SkyWest’s ability to meet this schedule,” airline officials have written to the Department of Transportation.

Airline officials wrote that reduced schedules would be a better alternative to many flight cancellations and delays.

Chambers said she doesn’t know how long the reduced flight schedule will be in place.

“Obviously they’re doing everything they can to get it back,” she said.

“We are very grateful to still have the service even with the reduction,” she added.

United Express is the only airline serving Fort Dodge. It began its local presence in March 2021 with flights to Chicago. Flights to Denver were added in October 2021.

The airline uses 50-passenger Bombardier CJR-200 jets for all flights.