Airport, rebounding from travel slowdowns, adds non-stop routes

Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines will begin flying non-stop from St. Pete -Clearwater airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport four days per week in November

By Business Observer Staff
| 9:43 a.m. April 27, 2021
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FILE - Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines will begin flying non-stop from St. Pete -Clearwater airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport four days per week in November

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

CLEARWATER - St.Pete-Clearwater International Airport is adding four nonstop flights a week to Minneapolis.

Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines will begin flying non-stop in November from the Clearwater airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport four days each week – Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Flights will start Nov. 25 with one-way rates as low as $79.The addition of the local flight is part of a larger expansion for Sun Country, which describes itself as a “new breed of hybrid low-cost air career.”

The airline is adding 18 non-stop routes to nine airports. In all, it will fly 93 routes to 68 airports in the U.S., Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Among those are four in Florida, including Sarasota/Bradenton International and Punta Gorda Airport in Charlotte County.

We are thrilled that Sun Country Airlines has selected Punta Gorda Airport for this new route, and we look forward to establishing a strong partnership and new opportunities for growth,” Punta Gorda Airport CEO James Parish says in a statement. “Our community is excited about welcoming new visitors from Minnesota to sunny southwest Florida. Travelers landing at our convenient airport can enjoy an array of outdoor activities surrounding Charlotte Harbor and can explore historic waterfront Punta Gorda to the beautiful Gulf beaches within a 45-minute drive.”

For St. Pete.-Clearwater the announcement of the new routes comes as it, and the travel industry, slowly begins to dig out after a calamitous year of pandemic-related slowdowns.

In March, the airport saw a 23% increase in passenger traffic when compared to last year. Despite the increase, St. Pete Clearwater says the number of travelers was down 25% from March 2019, one of its busiest months on record.

The airport currently offers flights to 54 locations domestically, mostly through Allegiant Air. The airline is adding two more destinations later this year – Little Rock, Arkansas in May and Portsmouth, New Hampshire in June.