Spirit Airlines is starting once more to fill seats with passengers headed from Westmoreland County to Orlando, Fla., as it resumes service this week at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.
Spirit suspended service at the Unity airport for nearly a month, amid travel trends depressed by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the sole commercial carrier has returned to Arnold Palmer with a schedule limited to three flights per week connecting Orlando and Unity.
Each flight initially stops at Pittsburgh International Airport to let off passengers from Orlando, and to pick up others headed south, before landing at the Unity airport.
On Monday the second day of restored service, the flight arrived at Arnold Palmer Regional with 68 passengers, five of whom got off while another 18 boarded. That represented an increase from Sunday’s initial return to service, which saw about 55 arrive in Unity and seven depart for Orlando.
“We’re excited about the prospects of being back in business,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority that runs the Unity airport. “It’s a new way of doing business, but it’s adaptable.”
With two of Orlando’s major tourist attractions — Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando — closed amid the pandemic, passengers on Monday’s flight cited other reasons for traveling.
McKeesport area dentist Mark Wilson was glad to be able once more to fly to Florida from Unity, citing Spirit’s low fares and the free parking at Arnold Palmer for those who don’t request a premium space.
During Spirit’s temporary shutdown at the Unity airport, Wilson had to book flights on another airline at Pittsburgh International.
Monday afternoon’s Spirit flight took him to visit his daughter in Clearwater, Fla.
“I’ve been back and forth,” Wilson said. “This is the third time since the middle of March.”
Because of pandemic-related restrictions, he noted, his Elizabeth Township practice has been limited to handling emergency cases, which a colleague will take care of while he’s away.
Wilson packed protective face masks, in keeping with health officials’ recommendations for limiting the potential spread of the coronavirus.
“I’m ready for it to be gone,” he said of the pandemic. He noted he’s “a little bit worried” about traveling during the virus outbreak, but “not super-concerned.”
In addition to sanitation efforts on the plane, Monzo said the airport staff “sanitize the building and all passenger areas before and after each flight.”
All those entering the airport terminal are asked to wear face coverings. Those who don’t have to be in the building should refrain from doing so, Monzo added.
“We’d rather that you not come into the terminal building and say your goodbyes out in the parking lot,” he said.
Spirit has announced that, effective May 11, it will require its passengers and “guest-facing” employees to wear face coverings.
“Guests will be expected to bring their own face coverings and will be required to wear them both at the airport and throughout the flight,” the company said in a news release. The only exceptions will be for children who are under age 2 or “are not able to maintain a face covering.”
In between flights, Spirit uses a fogging disinfectant to sanitize planes. Other measures to help guard against the spread of covid-19 include: Serving snacks and beverages by request only; removing seat-back menus to reduce common touch-points; leaving middle seats open in rows whenever possible.
Teresa Medasie of Claysburg noted middle seats remained open, save for rows occupied by families, when she and her husband, Paul, boarded Monday’s flight from Unity to Orlando.
Both spouses were wearing face masks as they headed for their second home, in Florida.
“We’ve got to check on it, ” said Paul. “Hopefully, everything is good.”
“Hopefully, when we get back, everything will be starting to open up here again,” Teresa said of Pennsylvania’s business restrictions.
A former Cresson native who now lives in Orlando, Tim Mullins took Monday’s Spirit flight to Latrobe to resume work with a Marcellus shale drilling operation.
An essential employee, he said he’s flown consistently for his job during the pandemic. ” I work (in Florida) for a couple weeks, and then the gas work starts back up here.”
He estimated passengers on his flight to Unity numbered about one-third of the plane’s capacity. “There’s social distancing,” he said.
Spirit temporarily discontinued flights from Arnold Palmer Regional to several Florida destinations and to Myrtle Beach, S.C., on April 8 — after passenger numbers dwindled and 175-seat planes began flying at less than 10% capacity.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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