Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe, Pa., is halfway through a renovation that will double its gates — from one to two.
But when Spirit Airlines shut down on May 2, the number of carriers operating there dropped from one to zero.
Palmer Airport, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, was the only airport in the United States served exclusively by Spirit, according to aviation data firm Cirium. With Spirit’s demise, Latrobe, population 8,000, was without a commercial airline for the first time since 2011.
“It’s definitely a setback,” said Moe Haas, the executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, which oversees the airport. Mr. Haas took over the agency on May 1, Spirit’s last full day in business.
“We have people ready to fly,” he said. “There was a need for them and there is still a need.”
Spirit cycled through a number of routes from Latrobe since it began service there 15 years ago, at various points flying to cities including Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Las Vegas. In 2015, a record 356,000 passengers flew in and out of Latrobe on Spirit, according to the airport authority. But demand never recovered from the pandemic, and last year fewer than 120,000 passengers used the airport.
When Spirit shut down, its only route from Latrobe went five times weekly to Myrtle Beach, SC
Mr. Haas said he expected to lay off about 20 of the airport’s 56 employees as a result of the closure. The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that its personnel at Palmer Airport “will be reassigned to other airports,” but declined to provide details.
Nestled in the gentle hills of western Pennsylvania, Latrobe is proud to be the birthplace of Fred Rogers, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and golf legend Arnold Palmer. The region is home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, about 55 miles south, and popular golf courses. The Flight 93 National Memorial, near Shanksville, Pa., is about 40 miles southeast.
Palmer Airport, with its free parking, is also a major point of pride for many residents.
A collage at the Latrobe Art Center, a downtown gallery and cafe, shows the airport and a Spirit jet alongside city icons like Rolling Rock beer, first made by the Latrobe Brewing Company, and a banana split (reportedly invented in Latrobe in 1904, the dessert is celebrated with a festival every summer).
“People just love flying out of Latrobe,” said Briana Tomack, executive director of the Greater Latrobe Laurel Valley Chamber of Commerce. Many travelers chose to fly there because it was often cheaper and less crowded than Pittsburgh International Airport, she said. That meant more business for Latrobe’s hotels, restaurants and shops.
“It was really good for us,” she said.
Local business owners said they would feel the loss.
“It hurts,” said Mark Boerio, 62, the owner of the Army & Navy gun store and indoor gun range. The Spirit flights, he added, “put us on the map a little bit more.”
Anthony M. DeNunzio II, 47, a manager at DeNunzio’s, an Italian restaurant at the airport, said the restaurant predated Spirit’s arrival and would survive it as well. Losing the airline hurt business, Mr. DeNunzio, but private and charter flights for golf and casino trips continue to attract guests, as do birthdays, funerals and other events.
Eric Bartels, Latrobe’s mayor, said in a text that he was concerned about the “inconvenience and added expense” for residents who now have to drive more than an hour to fly out of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Haas said he was in talks to bring other airlines to Latrobe, though he declined to identify them. Palmer Airport does not qualify for Essential Air Service, a federal program that subsidizes air routes serving small communities, because it is within 70 kilometers of Pittsburgh International Airport.
Spirit’s past success at Latrobe, along with the airport’s expansion, could help persuade another airline to enter the market, Mr. Haas. The renovation includes two new gates to replace the current one, with the possibility of a third. It is expected to be completed in stages beginning later this year.
Among those feeling Spirit’s loss most acutely are students at Laurel Highlands Aeronautical Academy, a flight school at Palmer Airport.
“It was kind of motivating to watch and think, ‘Hopefully we’ll get there one day,'” said Jade Schuffert, 19, a freshman.
Dominic Meckling, 16, said he became interested in becoming a pilot after flying Spirit out of Latrobe when he was younger.
“If it wasn’t for that plane, I don’t know that I’d be sitting here today flying,” he said.
The night Spirit shut down, he added, he and a friend were in conversation “just talking and tracking the last planes that were landing.”
Niraj Chokshi contributed with reporting.
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