Arnold Palmer airport eyes return of direct flights to, from Orlando

Positive customer response to restored air service between Orlando, Fla., and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, by way of Pittsburgh International, is expected to bring direct round-trip flights back next month from Westmoreland County to Florida.

Spirit Airlines launched a circular Orlando-Pittsburgh-Unity route on May 3 — nearly a month after suspending all service at the Palmer airport as passenger numbers plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Orlando flights, which occur on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, have been fully booked for this Thursday and for May 21, according to Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority.

“In the middle of June, we’ll go to our own flight to Orlando,” Monzo said. “We won’t share it with Pittsburgh.”

Spirit Airlines spokesperson Field Sutton confirmed that a round-trip Unity-Orlando route will begin June 11. Separate round-trip flights between Pittsburgh and Orlando will be scheduled on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, beginning June 10.

“We continue to monitor demand throughout our route network and look forward to adding additional service as that demand returns,” Sutton said.

Before the pandemic, Spirit, the sole commercial carrier at the Palmer airport, also provided flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and to additional destinations in Florida.

With commercial flights suspended for much of April, the Palmer airport reported just 423 passengers passing through the terminal that month. There were 30,747 passengers last April.

“It’s kind of nice seeing … two days that are fully booked,” said airport authority Chairman Paul Puleo. “Hopefully, in the next month or so, we can get back to some normalcy.”

In addition to procedures for sanitizing Spirit planes, Monzo said the authority has taken steps to guard against spread of the coronavirus at the Arnold Palmer terminal.

All who enter the terminal or ride a shuttle to the building from remote parking spaces are asked to wear face masks, as are employees, he said. A single entrance is being used, and hand sanitizer stations have been placed throughout the building.

“This terminal building looks better than it has in 20 years. It’s spotless,” Monzo said. “We purchased a spray sanitizer, and we’re using it in the bathrooms, throughout the terminal building and the passenger bridges, anywhere the public passes through, after flights.

“People who are arriving in Latrobe with checked bags, they pick them up outside, under the canopy, not in the baggage carousel — so we don’t collect a large amount of people there.”

The authority applied for funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, seeking $2.4 million for the Palmer airport and $30,000 f0r the smaller Rostraver Airport.

Monzo said the funding could be applied to any number of expenses, including payroll and capital projects. “We’ll see when it comes,” he said.