WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — New airlines will begin offering service from Hays and Great Bend this summer.

The Hays Regional Airport and Great Bend Municipal Airport have been without air service since late March, when Great Lakes Airlines dropped its service.

Beginning in early June, SeaPort Airlines, based in Portland, Ore., will begin daily round-trip service from Great Bend to Wichita and Kansas City. It will offer 18 round-trip flights a week.

And on Aug. 1, United Express, operated by SkyWest Airlines, will begin offering 12 weekly round-trip flights between Hays and Denver, using 50-passenger jets.

The Wichita Eagle reports Great Lakes Airlines has been reducing service in several communities, citing a pilot shortage caused by increased federal requirements for pilots.