There are a lot of updates from the Erie International Airport as airports across the country navigate uncertainty and chaos with lack of TSA agents and the fuel costs rising.
Starting November 18th, there will be another option for people looking to escape to south for warmer weather for a few days.
Breeze Airways will offer BreezeThru flights from the Erie International Airport to Fort Lauderdale.
These flights include a quick stop in Tampa, but passengers will stay on the plane.
Executive Director of the Erie International Airport, Derek Martin explains the logistics behind it, “You start off here and go non-stop to Tampa and then you stay on the same plane and then you make your way to Fort Lauderdale.”
This will also be helpful for people who take cruises as Fort Lauderdale is a major hub.
The service runs through January 9th and tickets are already available at flybreeze.com.
The Erie International Airport currently has three daily flights to Charlotte. Starting on May 22, American Airlines will offer a flight to Chicago and starting June 1, United will start three daily flights to Chicago.
As jet fuel costs continue to rise, that’s had an effect on major airlines. Over the weekend, United Airlines announced they will be cutting flights due to surging fuel prices caused by the war. This comes as Erie is expected to get new flights heading to Chicago from United in June, but will that change as the cost of fuel continues to rise? Martin said no.
“Tuesdays and Wednesdays are slow days in travel, so they are reducing flights in communities that have Tuesday and Wednesday flights, not in new markets, but in existing markets, where they know the demand and can make those adjustments”, said Martin.
Martin also talked about how they handle safety at the Erie International Airport following the collision at the LaGuardia Airport on Sunday which killed two pilots and injured several others people.
Officials said the fire truck was crossing the tarmac after being given permission to check on another plane.
Besides the two people that were killed, 40 passengers and crew members were hospitalized.
The crash temporarily shut down the airport, but it has now reopened. Martin explained the importance of communication. “Our firetruck has communication to the tower. We have multiple radios in the truck, so I don’t know what the issue was in LaGuardia, but communication was made in the truck, but the person didn’t respond in a timely manner”, according to Martin.
Airline travel has become a headache once again as DHS funding remains in limbo.
It has led to people waiting in lines for hours as TSA Agents call off due to not getting paid. While ICE Agents have been brought in to other airports. Martin doesn’t see that being an issue here. According to Martin, “They have been sent to twelve airports across the United States, there’s 400 that have passenger air service. The likelihood they are coming to Erie are slim to none.”
Martin also said they haven’t had too many people call off due to not getting paid. In fact, the community has turned out to help the TSA agents on the job. “We haven’t had an issues or call-offs at the Erie International Airport. We have been fortunate. people have reached out to provide some food to the TSA agents. The airport is doing that today and the community has done that as well”, said Martin.