Falls airport carrier to add flights to Melbourne, Fla.
WHEATFIELD - Passengers from Niagara Falls International Airport will be able to fly to Melbourne, Fla., starting in February.
Direct Air has announced it will add a third destination in eastern Florida to the routes the Myrtle Beach, S.C., company flies from the Niagara Falls airport.
The company plans to begin flights twice weekly from Niagara Falls International to Melbourne International Airport. Those flights will then continue on to Port Charlotte Airport in Punta Gorda, Fla.
The announcement comes as the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority prepares to open a $31.6 million new terminal at the airport in December and has aggressively attempted to attract new flights to Niagara Falls.
"With this addition, more flights will bring more revenue and opportunities that will mutually benefit the destinations, Direct Air and our community," NFTA Director of Aviation Bill Vanecek said in a written statement.
Direct Air, which began operating flights from Niagara Falls to Myrtle Beach in March 2007, is the only airline to offer regularly scheduled passenger service from the airport. It added flights to Punta Gorda later that year.
The company has expanded from operating flights in three destinations in 2007 to offering flights at 16 locations.
"We are here to stay," Ed Warneck, Direct Air president and managing partner, told Niagara County leaders last week. "We have made a commitment."
The new flights will operate on a 150-passenger Falcon Air MD83.
The company will begin offering air fares to Melbourne beginning at $99 each way on its Web site, www.visitdirectair.com.
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