As Memorial Day approaches, the airlines at Harrisburg International Airport (HIA) are preparing to increase flight options for business and leisure travelers throughout central Pennsylvania.
As the school year ends in June, Delta, United and US Airways will increase the size of key departures to Atlanta, Chicago and Charlotte respectively. The larger aircraft will provide more people the opportunity to utilize the convenience of Harrisburg. Also, beginning June 3rd, Allegiant will expand its Orlando Sanford service from two to four flights each week. Between June and August, the airlines at HIA anticipate serving approximately 350,000 passengers. .
April 2013 traffic even with April 2012
The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) reported today that 106,508 total passengers used HIA during April 2013 which was a decrease of less than one percent compared to April 2012. A year-to-date total of 398,997 passengers have used HIA in 2013.
“While January to April 2013 traffic is down 3.9 percent vs. the first four months of 2012, the decline is a direct result of flight reductions in January and February—the two slowest travel months of the year,” said SARAA Board member Fred Sembach. Business travel to Denver, Phoenix, Charlotte, Chicago and Atlanta remains strong as all five destinations have posted significant increases in 2013 traffic.
New AWOS to be installed at FCRA
Today, SARAA authorized a $232,919.40 contract with Bruce & Merrilees Electric Company, New Castle, PA, for the installation of an Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) at Franklin County Regional Airport (FCRA) near Chambersburg. An AWOS provides users of the airport with current weather information such as barometric pressure, temperature, wind speed and direction. Once operational, current weather information will be available to users of all four SARAA owned and operated airports.
CXY Tower to remain open
On May 10th, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that funding has been restored to keep the contract tower at Capital City Airport (CXY) open through September 30th, 2013. “We are pleased that the Department made the right decision,” said Tim Edwards, SARAA executive director. SARAA will continue to work with its federal delegation on a funding solution for 2014 and beyond.
Compass Rose completed at CXY
The Central PA Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization for women pilots, completed the layout and painting of a decorative compass rose on the ramp at Capital City Airport earlier this month. The compass rose is a circle made up of a series of lines, oriented to magnetic north, painted on the airport’s ramp showing direction expressed in degrees. The Ninety-Nines will host the 2014 Air Race Classic, an all-woman transcontinental air race that begins in California and ends at Capital City Airport on June 22, 2014.
The next SARAA Board meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 26th, 2013 at 8:00 am, in the David C. McIntosh Boardroom located on the third floor of the HIA Terminal Building