Starting in the spring, the regional airport in St. Augustine will once again offer direct flights to Philadelphia.
The service is resuming as airlines are taking note of the explosive population growth in St. Johns County.
The Nocatee development in the Northern part of the county is one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, and county spokesman Michael Ryan says airlines are taking note.
“For many years, we did not have any passenger flights out of St. Johns County. We had to travel to Jacksonville, Daytona or Orlando,” he said.
Not anymore. Twice-weekly flights to the Charlotte international airport are already taking off from the Northeast Florida Regional Airport on U.S. 1. And Frontier Airlines is planning to resume direct flights to Philadelphia in mid-April. The service began in April of 2016 and then went away temporarily.
“The evolution of the airport here reflects the growth occurring in our business community, and our economic development efforts are beginning to pay off,” Ryan said. “And we’re seeing more interest from organizations and entities that operate in larger cities.”
A one-way flight from St. Augustine to Philadelphia starts at around $80, according to the Frontier website.
Contact Jessica Palombo at 904-358-6315, jpalombo@wjct.org or on Twitter at @JessicaPubRadio.
