Myrtle Beach Flights up 23 percent for March

The launch of Myrtle Beach Direct Air and an earlier-than-usual spring return by Delta boosted passenger traffic in March at Myrtle Beach International Airport.

• About 68,446 people flew out of Myrtle Beach last month, a 23 percent increase over the same month a year ago, according to airport statistics.

• March was the seventh consecutive month of passenger increases over the previous year, a trend airport officials predict will continue as airlines add more flights and capacity.

• So far this calendar year, 148,001 travelers have flown out of Myrtle Beach.

Since last April, Myrtle Beach has added two additional destinations, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Spirit and Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Myrtle Beach Direct Air.

• Direct Air, during its first month in March, carried 4,052 passengers into and out of Myrtle Beach. The charter carrier flies to Newark, N.J.; Pittsburgh and Niagara Falls.

• Delta’s earlier-than-usual spring return also helped. The airline added another route to Atlanta to fill the void left by AirTran. About 3,293 people traveling in and out of Myrtle Beach flew on Delta in March.

• Spirit, which recently added a flight to Boston, carried the most outbound passengers, 26,858. US Airways was second, with 19,667 outbound passengers.

Airport officials point to passenger growth as a reason for building a new 14-gate terminal, a $226 million project that has limped along under stiff criticism for the past few years.

The Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board, which must OK the project, will decide April 26 whether it can be built.

Source: Dawn Bryant, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach