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ALPENA — SkyWest Airlines will continue to provide commercial air service at the Alpena County Regional Airport after the U.S. Department of Transportation chose the airline to provide essential air services.

The airline will provide 12 round-trip flights from Alpena to the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport each week.

The contract between SkyWest and the federal government is for three years and the airline will receive about $6.75 million during the first year of the deal, about $7.2 million in the second year, and touch over $7.7 million in the final year of the deal.

Only two airlines bid for the service in Alpena. Boutique Air offered flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and periodic flights to Detroit. Its jets only have enough room for eight or nine passengers.