Scranton Airport restaurants surviving amid pandemic
Things are looking up for the local airport's restaurant and doughnut shop, an official said Thursday.
The COVID-19 pandemic cost Lucky's Craft Food & Drink and Dunkin' a lot of customers as far fewer people flew out of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport the last few months.
After hitting a low point in April, sales increased 4% to 6% in May, June and July, and 10% the past month, said Rick Sell, vice president of restaurant operations for Metz Culinary Management, which runs Lucky's and Dunkin'. Sell spoke to the airport board via Zoom during its monthly meeting Thursday.
With more flights expected to return this fall, Sell expects sales to pick up even more. He said restaurant customers have noticed the airport's efforts to stay clean and sanitized amid the pandemic and that helps business.
"We really believe that that's so important for us as guests wait in the gate area or if they're sitting in the restaurant, that they're seeing staff actively taking care of those high-touch surfaces," Sell said.
In other business, the board:
• Heard airport director Carl Beardsley Jr.'s report that 6,969 people flew out of the airport in July. That's down 75% from July 2019, but up from 5,721 in June.
• Authorized extending the Geisinger Health System's hangar space for its LifeFlight helicopter for another three years through June 30, 2023.
Contact the writer: [email protected]; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.
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