Construction nears completion at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
The airport has been without commercial service since May when the facility’s lone carrier, Spirit Airlines, went out of business.
By RICH CHOLODOFSKY
TribLive
Work on a leaking roof and other finishing touches are all that remain for the first phase of a $22 million project that will double the size of the terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.
Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Maurice Haas said Tuesday the long-awaited expansion is expected to be completed by month’s end, readying the facility for what officials hope will be an imminent return of commercial passengers.
“It’s getting there,” Haas said.
Once completed, the airport expansion will feature two passenger gates, enhanced seating, space for potential vendors that could include a cafe, bar and newsstand along with a larger security area and new baggage systems. About 170 seats for passengers in the new terminal were installed in August at one of two gates that will available for commercial service.
All that’s needed is the passengers.
The airport has been without commercial service since May when the facility’s lone carrier, Spirit Airlines, went out of business. Large-scale charter service was also discontinued after the federal Transportation Security Administration pulled its staff from the airport this spring.
Haas said efforts to attract a new commercial carrier hinge on a pending application for a $805,000 federal grant from the Department of Transportation. It would cover financial guarantees to an as-yet unnamed airline to restore passenger service to the airport. That grant has in the past been awarded in the fall. Local officials anticipate a decision within the next several months and are optimistic the Westmoreland airport will be a recipient.
“We’re still waiting to hear about the grant. Then we’ll be ready to roll,” Haas said.
Local officials spent the past several months lobbying government officials, U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, and Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pittsburgh.
Haas said he expects the facility will be essentially ready for passengers by the end of September. The authority will seek out lease agreements for the vendor spaces in the new terminal once commercial service is in place.
Work on the project’s second phase includes relocation of the airport authority’s administrative offices to a downstairs area that previously served as the passenger waiting area. It started this summer and could be completed by the end of December.
The authority’s former offices will be repurposed and used as a new waiting area designated for the second passenger gate.
