Arnold Palmer airport shutdown creates sudden opportunity for regional runways
Facilities in Johnstown, Hagerstown, State College and Morgantown are positioning themselves to serve travelers left without local flights.
By NATHAN FERRARO
TribLive
When Michelle Kish flew back to Southwestern Pennsylvania from Atlanta recently, she didn’t bother booking a flight into Pittsburgh International Airport.
Instead, the 59-year-old stepped off at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, one of several nearby small runways fliers are considering following the May 2 shutdown of commercial service at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.
“I love coming to the Johnstown airport. I’d much rather come into a smaller airport than a larger airport,” said Kish, who recalled the hassle of flying into Pittsburgh and securing a rental car to visit family in Nanty Glo, north of Johnstown.
The loss of commercial flights at Arnold Palmer Regional has forced former customers not interested in flying out of Pittsburgh International to turn to neighboring regional hubs.
John Murtha Johnstown airport is the closest alternative at 37 miles east of Palmer airport, followed by Morgantown Municipal Airport 59 miles south. Fliers willing to travel farther can reach State College Regional Airport 112 miles northeast, while Hagerstown Regional Airport sits 131 miles southeast across the Maryland state line.
For these surrounding airports, the Unity airport’s loss represents a sudden opportunity — and a chance to showcase the convenience of smaller runways.
John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport
John Murtha Johnstown airport Manager Cory Cree said former Latrobe fliers have shifted to Cambria County. In response, he expanded marketing campaigns highlighting Johnstown’s routes to former Spirit destinations.
“We sympathize with our neighbor in Latrobe,” Cree said. “We hope they find another air carrier.”
The Johnstown airport is modest, sitting on 650 acres compared with Arnold Palmer’s 900 acres. But convenience makes the facility alluring to passengers.
“Obviously I like Johnstown because it’s a seven-minute drive from my house,” said Amy Burke of Johnstown. “It’s a smaller airport, but I only have to be here 20 minutes beforehand.”
Though Burke, 50, said her family regularly flies out of Pittsburgh, they use United Express at Johnstown about 10 times a year.
“It’s convenient, and even though it only goes to Dulles or Chicago, we pick up our flights wherever we need to go from either of those two hubs,” she said.
Johnstown typically offers daily service to both hubs, though D.C. flights are five days a week through mid-September.
Johnstown’s terminal is comfortable and quaint. Newspaper clippings commemorating the airport’s nearly 80-year history adorn the walls, and a winged glider hangs from the ceiling.
The airport, featuring a restaurant and rental cars, also houses the Saint Francis University Aviation Education Center. The 21-month program, established in 2024, currently hosts six students and anticipates a fall class of 18.
The university’s partnerships with the airport and companies such as Lockheed Martin allow program graduates to stay local, said Christian Zanin, aviation maintenance instructor.
“Everybody wants to work together, whether that be industry, education or government,” said Brianna Pavkovich, director of the aviation program. “Everyone is in agreement that we need to build up the aviation sector in Johnstown.”
The partnership among the airport, Saint Francis University, aviation workforce nonprofit Aerium, local businesses and government officials is essential to the community’s health, Cree said.
“We want to be a good community partner,” he said. “Everybody is pulling in the same direction.”
Enplanements — total travelers boarding planes — increased in Johnstown from about 14,250 in 2023 to 17,750 in 2024 and nearly 20,000 in 2025. Counting returning flights, about 38,000 total passengers used the airport last year, compared with Arnold Palmer’s 120,000.
Hitting the crucial regional benchmark of 10,000 annual enplanements increases federal funding eligibility from $150,000 to $1 million.
Hagerstown Regional Airport
Hagerstown Regional Airport, just across the Maryland border near Chambersburg, offers Allegiant flights to Orlando, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C. — two key leisure routes Spirit previously flew out of Unity.
Airport Director Neil Doran believes those flights can attract regional loyalists despite the nearly three-hour drive from the Pittsburgh area.
The parallels between Hagerstown and Unity are clear: Hagerstown’s terminal matches Arnold Palmer in size, though its footprint is 200 acres smaller.
“We’re in a similar situation,” Doran said. “If Allegiant ever left, we would be scrambling and trying to have service as well.”
Hagerstown has hosted an airport for nearly a century, though its modern terminal dates to the late 1980s, Doran said. Despite its gray facade, the facility retains a smalltown atmosphere.
The U.S. Department of Transportation stripped the airport’s Essential Air Service classification — a federal program subsidizing commercial flights to small, rural communities such as Johnstown — in 2019, largely due to its proximity to highways leading to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Doran said.
“Some of those other cities … like Johnstown and Altoona, they only have air service because of those subsidies,” Doran said. “One of the challenges is that, where we’re located on the map, it is just so darn easy to get on the highway and drive to BWI Airport or Dulles.” Both airports are about 70 miles away.
“So even if we made the ticket dirt cheap and it was $29 and we had free parking, we couldn’t get even a handful of people to get on that plane and take that hop down to Dulles.”
Despite losing federal subsidies, the airport remains known for low fares.
Shirley Norris, 65, of Carroll County, Md., and her husband drove an hour to Hagerstown for a flight to Myrtle Beach, noting ticket prices compare favorably with larger hubs.
“I try to work it with (Hagerstown),” Norris said, highlighting benefits like a “shorter distance to the airplane, to the gate. … It’s just less stress. You don’t have to rush, rush, rush.”
Today, Hagerstown serves roughly 90,000 passengers annually — up from 63,000 four years ago. The airport expanded its hold room in 2020 to accommodate 300 passengers and is constructing a 4,800-square-foot terminal expansion funded by a $5.25 million federal grant.
The property hosts an aviation museum, defense contractors, cargo facilities and a Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics campus, where students earn maintenance diplomas in 16 months. Doran estimated 20 to 40 corporate tenants operate on site.
“We have the benefit of the general aviation community being fairly strong here, having business tenants and having business-related activities and stuff going on in addition to the airline stuff,” he said.
Location also shapes operations. Situated along Interstate 81, the facility draws travelers and workers from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
“So we’re trying to drum up support from adjacent counties and local governments and stuff, and we want all of them to realize that HGR is their local airport,” Doran said.
He envisions a “quad-state economic partnership” to sustain the airport long term.
“We’re trying to build a coalition so it’s not just our one county of 155,000 people trying to do it all but a much larger area,” Dorian said. “The people … would benefit from such a service.”
State College Regional Airport
Penn State University and the Centre County Airport Authority jointly oversee operations State College Regional Airport, which serves roughly 300,000 fliers annually.
“We’re self-sustaining based on the population in the region,” said Jason McMurtrie, assistant executive director of landside operations. “We operate and are sustained by the rates and fees that we charge with parking, airline rent, rental cars, bus operations from the airport. … We try to stand on our own two feet with everything that we do.”
Penn State manages airside infrastructure, including runways, taxiways and security across most of the 1,100-acre property. The authority handles landside operations, including commercial agreements, parking and terminal facilities.
That dual-management system will end soon. Efforts to transfer full ownership to the authority began in February and await federal approval. Both entities are part of the State College Air Service Alliance board along with the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and local business leaders.
Once the transition is complete, Penn State will no longer hold operational control. Mc-Murtrie described the restructuring as unifying management rather than a split.
“They will not have anything to do with the airport at that point,” McMurtrie said. “We respect that they’re a player — a big player — in the community, and we certainly would look to them for any concerns or advisory type things that may be of interest to them with the airport.”
Cindy Beal, 77, of Lewistown in nearby Mifflin County, flies out of the airport three to four times a year, noting it is cheaper and easier to navigate than Harrisburg International Airport.
“I like flying out of a small airport, and everybody is always very helpful,” Beal said after returning from a trip to Chicago. “You can’t get lost in here.”
State College’s terminal features natural light, skylights and cloud murals. The simple layout pairs with the extra effort staffers put in to help fliers.
“We all chip in and try to offer personalized service where we can and help people,” Mc-Murtrie said. “More than what you get in a high volume airport.
“We’ll pump up your tire for free. We’ll jump-start your car for free, you know, that’s all the little things that we do around here that, if you need shoveled out, and you let us know, we’ll shovel your car out,” he said. “Those are all things that you’re not going to find at other airports as readily.”
The airport recently secured $4.5 million to install two jet bridges and is seeking federal funding to support direct flights to Florida. Direct service to Charlotte, N.C., begins this fall.
Morgantown Municipal Airport
Like Johnstown, Morgantown Municipal Airport relies on federal subsidies, serving about 30,000 passengers annually on a slightly smaller footprint.
Emily Muzzarelli, interim airport director and Morgantown assistant city manager, said the facility drives commerce by supporting West Virginia University, regional healthcare systems and corporate employers.
“We have a very strong working relationship with WVU,” she said. “We have a committee that meets regularly just to talk about some capital projects at the airport, things related to tourism and some of the events going on, specifically a lot of the sporting events.”
Muzzarelli emphasized partnerships with local tourism bureaus to bring visitors into the region.
Capital improvements are underway, including a projected $90 million, 1,001-foot runway extension, road repaving, new sidewalks and interior renovations, including lighting, flooring and signage.
“The majority of revenue for the airport comes from airport users themselves,” Muzzarelli said. “There is a lot of money that comes from the federal government through various taxes. That is how, like, all the capital projects come in, but operationally, for just day-to-day operations — us paying our utility bills, keeping the lights on and keeping staff paid — the bulk of that is coming from revenue generated at the airport.”
Isabela Haque, 18, a WVU student from Connecticut, said free parking and short travel times make Morgantown her primary choice.
“That’s another good thing about smaller airports: I don’t have to pay to be here,” she said. “I prefer smaller airports a lot.”
Muzzarelli, who grew up in Ambridge, acknowledged the plight of the Palmer airport.
“We have a very strong general aviation community that utilizes the Morgantown airport. However, you know, right now we do rely on the Essential Air Service program through the federal government to be able to sustain commercial air traffic here,” she said. “I think programs like that that can continue to keep commercial air service in smaller communities is really vital to being able to have air travel accessible to more people.”
