After months of commercial flight slowdowns and outright shutdowns, the terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is about to become bustling again with airline passengers.
While covid-19 and an $18 million runway widening and facility improvement project took their toll on commercial flight offerings over the last 11 months, officials at the Unity airport received word Monday that Spirit Airlines is expanding its flight service.
Currently, flights are available five days a week — Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday — with service to Orlando, Fla. Starting Feb. 12, Orlando flights will expand to seven days a week and ones to Myrtle Beach, S.C., will return on Mondays and Fridays, according to Spirit’s website.
In March, the airline will schedule daily flights to Orlando; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Myrtle Beach — plus twice-weekly flights to Fort Myers, Fla.
“This is marvelous news,” said airport authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo. “Like most, we have certainly had our share of trials and tribulations. But we kept our head down and we kept plowing forward, and it’s now looking like that effort and attitude is beginning to pay off.”
Safety was paramount during the pandemic from day one, Monzo said.
“We did everything we could envision to make sure that people working in the terminal and passengers coming through were protected and as safe as possible,” he said. “This was uncharted territory for all of us, but we got through it and will continue to keep safety at the forefront.”
But the airport authority was able to keep several major projects on track — a runway widening, apron strengthening and passenger hold room expansion that added seats for more than 300 passengers at a time. Monzo said the airport is now ready to serve passengers and return flights back to the level the airline was scheduling prior to the pandemic and even more, if needed.
“We saw these projects through to fruition to make this facility ready when people were ready to come back to fly,” Monzo said. “And now it’s looking like they are.”
A year-end report showed a severe downturn in air traffic at Arnold Palmer in 2020. The number of outgoing passengers plummeted from 155,905 in 2019 to 62,670 last year. Total passengers, including arrivals, fell from 309,817 to 123,511.
Tickets may be purchased in person at the airline counter in the terminal from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays or anytime online at spirit.com. Arnold Palmer Regional Airport’s three-digit identifier code is LBE.
Reservations are not available by calling the airport. To book by phone, customers can call Spirit at 855-728-3555.
“We’re very excited and we appreciate Spirit’s enthusiasm,” Monzo said. “Perhaps our improvements are paying dividends. This should fill the parking lots again.”
