Struggles of a Small California Airport

Sept. 9, 2008— -- Looking for a quick weekend away, a holiday trip back home or a good deal on a flight to attend a friend's wedding? Good luck: This fall, finding an escape route will not be easy.

Just ask residents of the college town of San Luis Obispo, Calif. The airlines servicing the town's airport have recently made some difficult business decisions and as a result, passengers may have problems finding a flight.

Watch "World News with Charles Gibson" Tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET for the full report.

Soon, travelers who rely on American Eagle for the short flight to Los Angeles will need to make other plans. After more then 30 years of service, American will stop flights to San Luis Obispo in November. Delta, too, stopped flying from San Luis Obispo to Salt Lake City starting Sept. 1, which will leave just two airlines with regular service to the city.

"We knew that they were going to downsize, but to have them go down completely, it was a real, real shock," said San Luis Obispo's airport manager Klaasje Nairne about American Eagle's decision.

"That Salt Lake City flight is critical to us," said Mike Cannon, a San Luis Obispo businessman with the engineering firm Cannon Associates. "We got to get to a major transportation hub for this place to be accessible."

But driving to those hubs instead of flying will prove difficult.

"It would be about four hours to San Francisco, three hours to Los Angeles, maybe even more depending on the traffic," said passenger Judie Green, who recently used the San Luis Obispo airport to fly to San Francisco and catch a flight to Boston. "When you want to make connections through San Francisco or Los Angeles, it's really important to have a local community airport. It's served this community well, and I think it's really important to continue it."

What's happening in San Luis Obispo is happening throughout the country -- and is especially hitting travelers looking to get to and from the nation's smaller towns.