TUPELO - Delta Connection Flight No. 3026 on Sept. 6 will be the last direct flight from Tupelo to Atlanta.

The next day, Delta will fly only between Tupelo and Memphis, beginning two years of federally subsidized air service.

On Monday, Tupelo Regional Airport officials released a new schedule that eliminated the Tupelo-Atlanta flight, as had been expected.

Starting Sept. 7, Tupelo Regional will have 15 flights weekly thanks to an agreement forged by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Delta Air Lines and city and airport officials.

On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, Delta will offer three departures and arrivals between Tupelo and Memphis; on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, two flights; and on Saturdays and Sundays, one arriving and departing flight.

"It's actually a good schedule," said TRA Executive Director Josh Abramson, noting that the days with three flights are the most heavily traveled in Tupelo.

While Abramson and other city and airport leaders had hoped to get 21 weekly flights - which would have provide three flights every day of the week - they had to work out the schedule that would benefit the most passengers

The DOT agreed to pay Delta $921,000 through the Essential Air Service Program, through May 31, 2012.

Delta had been providing two daily flights since July 2009 - one to Memphis and one to Atlanta. It had notified DOT that it could no longer provide air service in Tupelo without a subsidy.

It also said the Atlanta flight traditionally had not made money from Tupelo.

Contact Dennis Seid at (662) 678-1578 or dennis.seid@djournal.com.