By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The Massena International Airport Essential Air Service contract is up for bid, and there could be three or more airlines trying to get it.

Essential Air Service gives federal subsidies to maintain flights out of small towns like Massena. Ogdensburg and Saranac Lake, in addition to many other rural American communities, get the funding.

Massena Highway Superintendent Frank Diagostino says Boutique Air, the current air carrier, is likely to bid, along with Cape Air and Florida-based Silver Air.

“Silver Airways has contacted us and looked at our airport,” Diagostino said. “They’re out of Florida, a lot of their business is the islands (such as Jamaica and the Bahamas) and they’re trying to do more business on the east coast.”

The Department of Transportation will take bids for the Massena EAS contract through Oct. 30, he said, and bids are not limited to just those three airlines.

After that, “they go over the bids to make sure they’re correct and then release those bids for the town board to review and the public.”

“The board will make the final decision with who they pick,” Diagostino said.

Two years ago, Cape Air lost the Massena EAS contract to Boutique Air after a public meeting where representatives from both companies came to town and gave sales pitches.

Cape Air was doing daily flights to Albany. When Boutique Air took over, they were flying twice per day to Albany and Baltimore. Earlier this year, they scrapped those flights and are now going every day to Logan International Airport in Boston.