PITTSTON TWP. — January was a rough month for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
At Thursday’s airport board meeting, Director of Flight Service Development Beth Coslett reported 23 departing flights — 22 for weather and one for air traffic control — and 25 arriving flights — 24 for weather and one for air traffic control — were cancelled in January.
The result was an 11% drop in passenger boardings, 18,418 in January 2026 compared to 20,670 in January 2025. The airport also reported an operations loss of $37,513 in January — a difference of $45,962 compared to the $8,449 profit from January 2025.
The airport is unable to collect various landing and takeoff fees from airlines when flights are cancelled, Coslett explained. Also at Thursday’s meeting, Coslett reviewed Breeze Airways’ plan to provide nonstop flights from the airport to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesdays and Saturdays starting July 1.
Acting Director BJ Teichman reported Luzerne and Lackawanna County officials signed a new partnership agreement on Feb. 19 to continue joint ownership of the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration asked the counties to approve a new partnership agreement to allow the airport to continue to receive FAA funding.
The FAA wanted a single federal sponsor of the airport for the purposes of federal grant administration and compliance. Both counties were sponsors under the former agreement between the counties to share ownership.
The name of the new partnership entity is “AVP Bi-County Partnership.” The airport has an Avoca mailing address and is primarily in Pittston Twp. in Luzerne County.