PULLMAN — The University of Idaho and Alaska Airlines announced today they have finalized a deal to provide nonstop flights to Boise from the Palouse.

As part of the agreement, Alaska Airlines will offer regular, daily flights to Boise five days a week and the UI will guarantee payments of as much as $500,000 a year for three years if the flights do not make at least a 10-percent profit.

The Idaho State Board of Education approved the move late last month, with board members noting the flights would benefit communities in the Palouse region as well as the UI. 

There have not been direct flights between the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport and Boise for about a decade, and Boise flights from Lewiston’s airport were canceled in 2018, according to a UI news release.