More than 350,000 Travelers Use HIA During Summer of 2014
Low fare leisure travelers up 28% during summer of 2014
The summer travel season is the busiest time of the year for airlines and most airports around the nation, said SARAA Chairman Fred Sembach. He explained that since HIA serves Pennsylvania’s state capital region, most of its passengers travel for business purposes. However, over the past few years, as the nation largest airlines restructured themselves and their route networks due to mergers, a growth opportunity for low fare leisure focused airlines developed in Harrisburg.
Between June and August 2014, 60,110 passengers flew nonstop on Allegiant and Frontier to/from leisure destinations primarily in Florida and Colorado; an increase of 28.6 percent compared to the summer of 2013. The top five destinations were Orlando/Sanford, Denver, Orlando International, Chicago-Midway and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. Sembach said “we expect this trend to continue as beginning in December, both Frontier and Allegiant will increase nonstop flights to the Orlando and Tampa Bay regions enabling more people to save Money, Distance and Time when choosing HIA.”
HIA Master Plan Public Meeting is Tonight
Tonight, HIA will host its second Master Plan public meeting on the Penn State Harrisburg campus in the Capital Union Building between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00 PM. Since airports are required to be financially self-sustaining entities the master plan process creates a framework where airport neighbors and other stakeholders can offer input on how current and future facilities at HIA can better serve this region’s needs. Airport officials and the Leigh Fisher master planners will be available to discuss the proposed plans and answer questions. For more information, visit www.flycxy.com/hia_master_plan.
SARAA Awards Contracts for Legal Service
The SARAA Board voted today to retain Rhoads & Sinon, Harrisburg PA, as solicitor to the Airport Authority for general legal services and added Kaplan Kirsh Rockwell, Washington D.C., to be used as needed to provide special legal assistance with emphasis on airport/aviation law issues.
The next SARAA Board meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 at 8:00 am, in the David C. McIntosh Boardroom on the third floor of the HIA Terminal Building.
Seven airlines serve Harrisburg International Airport (HIA) offering about 90 flights daily to 12 non-stop destinations. The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) owns HIA, Capital City Airport in New Cumberland and both Franklin County and Gettysburg Regional Airports. Incorporated in 1997, SARAA is a multi-municipal authority whose mission is to serve the region by providing high quality, efficient airports and promoting regional economic development. Combined these four facilities handle about 90,000 aircraft operations and generate a total economic output of more than $990 million annually.