A regional airport in Pennsylvania has been left without any commercial flights after Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased its operations earlier this month. For years, the budget airline was the only carrier offering flights in and out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near the suburban town of Latrobe.
When executives at Spirit Airlines announced on May 3 that it would start winding down its global operations, effective immediately, amid a bankruptcy, the town of about 8,000 people was left without a commercial airline service for the first time since 2011, according to The New York Times. Residents will now have to drive more than an hour to fly out of Pittsburgh International Airport, which is often more expensive and more crowded than Palmer.
Airport executives say they expect to lay off about 20 of the regional airport's 56 employees as a result of the closure. The Transportation Safety Administration also said staff at the airport will be reassigned to other airports, but did not provide details.
"It's absolutely a setback," said Moe Haas, the executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, who had just taken over at the agency on May 1, Spirit's last full day in business. "We have people ready to fly," he said, adding of Spirit: "There was a need for them and there's still a need."
Decline in Passenger Numbers
In 2015, a record 356,000 passengers flew in and out of Latrobe on Spirit. But the demand never recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year fewer than 120,000 passengers used the airport. The airline filed for bankruptcy twice, and an attempt to merge with JetBlue failed in 2024 after the Justice Department under the Biden administration blocked the multi-billion-dollar merger. By January, Spirit also shifted its flights to Orlando, Florida, from year-round to seasonal, and in recent months the only flight out of Latrobe was to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Latrobe Bulletin reports.
Local Impact
Local business owners said they would feel the loss. "It hurts," said Mark Boerio, the owner of Army & Navy gun store and indoor pistol range. He added that the Spirit flights "put us on the map a little bit more." Students at the Laurel Highlands Aeronautical Academy, a flight school at Palmer Airport, also bemoaned the loss of the budget carrier. Dominic Meckling, 16, told The Times how he first became interested in becoming a pilot after flying on a Spirit flight out of Latrobe when he was younger. "If it wasn't for that flight, I don't know that I'd be sitting here today and flying," he said.
But Anthony M DeNunzio II, manager of DeNunzio's Italian restaurant at the airport, said his business will survive from private and charter flights for golfing and casino trips, and for birthdays, funerals, and other life events.
Efforts to Attract New Airlines
Airport officials are now working to bring other airlines to Palmer, which does not qualify for the Essential Air Service, a federal program that subsidizes airline routes serving small communities, because it is within 70 miles of Pittsburgh International. Last month, former Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said talks with three commercial airlines were continuing with "good, open discussions." Haas, the new executive director, believes Spirit's onetime success in Latrobe could help persuade another airline to enter the market, as will a $22 million expansion scheduled to open on July 1.
The renovation includes two new gates to replace the current one, with an option to open a third gate in the future. "There's a lot more room and a better flow for people coming in and out," Haas told WTAE. "We're set up. Everything will be new," he added. "We'll have a new, refurbished passenger-loading bridge. We have plans with a second new one going in."
Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas also said the loss of Spirit Airlines "is a big blow to our airport and to our local economy." He noted that "the outrageous increase in fuel costs was obviously more than Spirit could bear." Kopas expressed sympathy for the employees abandoned by Spirit and said workforce resources would be made available to help them. He added, "But this is a temporary blow. With all the improvements at the airport and ongoing conversations with other airlines, I still believe there is hope for a bright future for Arnold Palmer Regional Airport."
