Flights, county fair coincide with Westmoreland Airshow this year

Zachary Stull spent Friday morning at the auto shop, preparing his car for a 15hour drive from Westmoreland County to Orlando, Fla.

Stull, 43, of Bolivar, scheduled a trip to Disney with his wife and their 6-year-old son months ago. He realized only four days ago that the Spirit Airlines flight he booked departing from Unity’s Arnold Palmer Regional Airport fell on the first day of the Westmoreland Airshow, Aug. 17.

“I just happened to look on Facebook and someone posted about the air show, and I was like ‘Oh man, that’s the day we’re leaving,’” Stull said.

Stull took to social media seeking advice on the matter from Westmoreland County residents.

He decided to cancel his flight after reading through comments from people who said they had previous negative experiences flying out of the Unity airport during the air show. A few social media users sent direct messages to Stull, suggesting he and his family take an Uber to avoid parking at the airport.

“The one lady said it messed up her honeymoon,” Stull said. “She said that they went on their honeymoon (during the air show) and they missed a whole day of their trip.”

Stull and his family fly out of the airport about five or six times a year.

“It’s just super easy flying out of Spirit and Latrobe,” he said. “There’s no wait time and it’s $120 for a round trip.”

He plans to use the credits from the flight for a trip in February.

“Honestly, I just didn’t want to deal with the stress of it,” Stull said. “I’d rather know a week ahead of time exactly what my plan is going to be so I don’t have to worry about waiting for four hours in the airport with my kid.”

Airport predicts minimal traffic issues

Gabe Monzo, executive director of the airport, said there will be one Spirit commercial flight departing from the airport on Aug. 17. A few corporate or charter flights likely will depart during the two-day show.

Monzo said passengers flying out of the airport during the air show will have access to parking right in front of the building. He does not anticipate issues with traffic, which will be controlled by state police and volunteer firefighters from Unity’s seven fire companies.

“Traffic shouldn’t be bad,” he said. “It’s a small show. It’s not a (U.S. Air Force) Thunderbirds show or anything like that.”

Flights departing the airport during the air show have been incorporated into the event schedule for about five years, Monzo said. While crews prepare the plane for take off, an air show announcer will narrate what is happening for onlookers.

“People seem to enjoy that, because they don’t know the inner workings of what people are actually doing (with the plane),” Monzo said.

“They can see the belt loaders. They can see the baggage going on the aircraft,” he said. “They can see them pushing back the aircraft, how that works, hooking the aircraft up — all parts of what we do everyday, and people that come to the air show have never seen anything like that before.”

Monzo advised passengers to arrive the standard two hours before their flight on Aug. 17, allotting an additional 15 minutes to navigate traffic.

Airshow, Westmoreland Fair overlap

This year’s air show overlaps with the Westmoreland Fair, slated to start Aug. 16. The fairgrounds are located about 6½ miles from the fairgrounds.

Because approval to host the air show comes from the U.S. Department of Defense, the airport does not have a say in the date, Monzo said.

“Being that we’re a small show, we pretty much take whatever they give us,” he said. “We’re not a big player. We’re a small fish in a big pond, so we take whatever we can get whenever we can get it.”

The air show has previously been held in May, June and September, Monzo said — even during graduation or weddings at Saint Vincent College.