PITTSTON TWP. — When you enter the parking garage at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport these days, nearly every space is filled.
Carl Beardsley, the airport’s executive director, smiled when that was brought to his attention.
“Those filled parking spaces means more people are flying from our airport,” Beardsley said. “We are offering more flights, which means more seats are available and our marketing team has been doing a great job.”
That said, Beardsley’s report on passenger flow for January 2024 only showed an increase of 1.1% over January 2023.
“We expect to see a higher increase for February,” Beardsley said.
Beardsley also told the Bi-County Airport Board that two daily flights out of the airport to Washington Dulles International Airport will begin on June 27. Two flights will depart and there will also be two arrivals from Dulles International, Beardsley said.
Beardsley also reported that in January 2024, seven departing flights were cancelled — all due to weather conditions. He said this accounts for 485 (2.7 %) out of a total of 17,723 departure seats. Also, Beardsley said seven arriving flights were cancelled due to weather.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the finance report of Chris Dalessandro, Director of Finance, said for the month of January 2024, airport 0perations had a loss totaling $150,487, compared to a loss of $110,051 in January 2023 — a difference of $40,436.
Dalessandro said invoices received since the last meeting for supplies and services totaled $1,850,058.15, including major construction project costs of $1,606,790.92.63.
• Accepted the resignation of Gerhard Perrone, Edwardsville, Maintenance II, effective Feb. 1.
• Heard Luzerne County Council Member LeeAnn McDermott, who sits on the airport board, praised airport staff for helping her when she returned on a flight and discovered her car would not start. McDermott praised the staff for their prompt and capable help.