United Airlines to offer more direct flights from Pittsburgh to Florida

United Airlines soon will add more direct flights from Pittsburgh and other cities to four popular Florida destinations.

Airline officials said the move is part of a “continuing strategy to aggressively and opportunistically manage the impact of covid-19 by increasing service to destinations where customers most want to fly.”

Beginning Nov. 6, United will add round-trip flights from Boston, Cleveland and New York/LaGuardia to four destinations in Florida: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa. In December, service will be increased with additional flights from Columbus, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh traveling to Fort Myers and Tampa.

“The addition of these new flights represents United’s largest expansion of point-to-point, nonhub flying and reflects our data-driven approach to add capacity where customers are telling us they want to go,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of domestic network planning. “We look forward to offering customers in the Midwest and Northeast more options to fly nonstop to Florida this winter.”

Bob Kerlik, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said Pittsburgh International Airport is looking forward to the additional service.

“United Airlines continues to be an important partner in Pittsburgh, and we are pleased to be a part of this service expansion,” Kerlik said. “We appreciate this additional service that gives Pittsburgh area travelers another option to reach Southwest Florida during the start of the winter season.”

Florida has long been identified as a hot spot for the coronavirus, with more than 550,000 cases since March. Allegheny County Health Department officials recommend that anyone who engages in high-risk travel to quarantine for 14 days upon return. If you can’t quarantine, the county recommends you seek covid-19 testing and stay home until test results are received.