University Park Airport Adds New Flights to Recover from COVID-19 Economy
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – University Park Airport has been a stop-gap for major airports since the early 1950s. Traffic grew exponentially since then, where in 2019, over 193,000 passengers boarded flights.
But, COVID-19 grounded these numbers. The airport hopes that busier days are ahead with the inclusion of a weekly flight to Charlotte, North Carolina that seats 50 people.
James Meyer, Executive Director of the Centre County Airport Authority says that this is encouraging for expanding the University Park Airport’s network.“That has gone quite well. We’re halfway through that,” Meyer said. “It’s only one day a week, so it’s not something that we could really advertise.”
There are hopes that American airlines will add crews so, similar to other flights to established airport hubs, that this route will run twice a day, six days a week.
As is, the airport cannot hold the influx of flights and need more renovations. The Director of University Park Airport, Bryan Rogers, explained their plans to improve aircraft accessibility. “There is a proposed project to look at the feasibility of adding passenger boarding bridges to benefit passengers and the airlines.”
Meyer says the projects could cost upwards of $150,000, funded by federal grants, and would not be completed until 2024 at the earliest.
AJ Sisson is a fifth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ajs7753@psu.edu.
