Myrtle Beach flights increase airport activity

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

VIENNA

Activity is picking up at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport thanks to flights to Myrtle Beach, and the airport’s new aviation director is hoping that talks with additional airlines will continue the trend.

Daniel Dickten, hired in April, told the Western Reserve Port Authority during its monthly meeting Wednesday that the number of people flying out of the local airport rose to 2,648 in May 2010, nearly 1,100 more than in May 2009, when the number was 1,554.

That resulted in parking fees’ rising to $9,113 in May 2010, compared with $1,537 in May 2009 and $3,748 in May 2008.

Dickten said the increased activity is because leisure airline Allegiant added flights to Myrtle Beach in April.

Dickten has talked with several airlines during his two months on the job. One company is considering flights to Washington, D.C., or Chicago; others, business flights to the East Coast and leisure flights to several Florida cities.

In other business, the port authority approved the business plan written by Rose Ann DeLeon, the port authority’s executive director, and a new economic- development agreement between the authority and the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

DeLeon is in charge of economic development for the port authority.

One of the advertised advantages of having a port authority economic- development office — the creation of a bond fund that can provide financing for businesses wanting to expand — will be a priority, her plan says.

The port authority approved a new three-year agreement with the Regional Chamber that calls for the Regional Chamber to receive 10 percent of the fees that would be collected from a company that creates new jobs through expansion or relocation.

The agreement that expired in March 2009 required the parties to split those fees evenly.