I would definitely be annoyed if I was suddenly expected to drive 2 hours for my flight booked out of COU, especially if I paid a premium to fly out of the local airport. I don't know if that's still true, since the few times I flied out of COU I think the only service was to MEM on Delta and airfares were usually significantly higher than flying out of STL.
Interesting note, Columbia says they expect the FAA to cover 90% of the cost of the repair.
John Glascock, Columbia's interim city manager, told members of Regional Economic Development Inc. on Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration would pick up 90 percent of the cost.
He estimated the price tag to be between $400,000 and $500,000.
“We built it to their standards. We did everything properly. They’re going to have to pay for it,” Glascock said.