The executive director of the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport said they will remain open after Spirit Airlines shut down.
“The airport will still operate itself. We have the FBOs and the restaurant providing us funding through fuel flow, landing fees. So we are still surviving,” Executive Director Moe Haas said.
Spirit Airlines is the only commercial airline serving the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. With the recent announcement of its shutdown, Haas says the airport will see a workforce reduction in the coming days.
Anthony Denunzio II manages Denunzio’s Italian restaurant out of the airport. He says they will not change their hours of operation or staffing for the restaurant,
“It’s tough to put an exact number on how not having Spirit Airlines here on a daily basis will affect us,” Denunzio said.
They will still host their upcoming Mother’s Day event along with weddings, parties, and summer events.
“I think it’s a temporary concern that is going to be resolved soon,” Denunzio said.
Spirit cited high fuel prices as one of the main contributing factors for the closure. But cost was also a concern for the thousands of travelers left stranded by the airline, like Kevin Rabbits, who was forced to stay two more days in Orlando and Florida.
“The prices were outrageous. I looked the next day, and some of them were over $1,200 just for a one-way flight,” Rabbits.
Rabbits had to fly out of a regional Orlando airport to Pittsburgh because of cost and availability.
Still, Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is set to open its new terminal on July 1. The nearly $20 million project is paid for by county, state, and federal funds. Now the question is what airline will fill the space, and when?
“It will probably be at the earliest a few months from now, maybe a year until they get anything through the process,” Haas said.
Haas says the staff will return on Thursday for a meeting, but was unable to share any further details.
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