Small US town left completely isolated and cut off from world after only airlines in town goes under - New York Post

After Spirit Airlines shuttered, some small towns were hit particularly hard — leaving at least one airport with an empty flight schedule. The budget airline ceased operations after 34 years on May 2, 2026, and while many travelers were left scrambling to get new flights, one small airport has been left with no commercial service at all. In the small town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE) had all its eggs in Spirit Airlines’ basket. Spirit Airlines ceased operations, and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport was left with no commercial flights. REUTERS/Quinn Glabicki No other commercial airlines currently operate out of LBE. The airport does still serve private charter companies, such as Silver Air and Surf Air, but those are at a much higher cost than a flight on a budget airline. “There is no way to sugarcoat this. While not totally unexpected, this is a big blow to our airport and to our local economy,” Ted Kopas, Westmoreland County Airport Authority board member and Westmoreland County Commissioner, said in a statement, according to WTAE. At its peak, Spirit operated 15 weekly flights out of the small airport, with Fort Lauderdale and Orlando as two of the destinations. The loss of all commercial flights at LBE could ultimately have domino effect on other businesses at the airport, such as car rentals and an Italian restaurant. Workers may also need to be laid off. “We’ll probably have a workforce reduction,” Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Moe Haas told WTAE. “We hate to do it because it’s one big family here at the airport. A lot of people put their heart and soul into making this place thrive.” DeNunzio’s, the airport’s lone restaurant, also relied on those commercial flights, and it isn’t planning on reducing its hours or cutting staff. Spirit Airlines was the only commercial airline operating out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. REUTERS/Quinn Glabicki/File Photo “People have worked here at this restaurant and at this airport for decades,” DeNunzio’s Manager, Anthony DeNunzio II, said. “We don’t anticipate that changing. Here in Latrobe, we don’t anticipate changing anything. We’re going to be here. We’re going to be open seven days a week.” LBE officials are hoping another commercial carrier might come in and take over, especially since the airport is in the middle of a $22 million terminal expansion, scheduled to open July 1, which could be more appealing. “We’ve always been entertaining for other airlines to come,” Haas said. “That work is still in progress. I’d like to see one tomorrow, but we know that won’t come true. Probably, at the earliest, a few months from now or maybe a year.” “There’s a lot more room and a better flow for people coming in and out,” DeNunzio II added. “We’re set up. Everything will be new. We’ll have a new, refurbished passenger-loading bridge. We have plans with a second new one going in.” Other airports have been impacted as well, but not to this extent. According to Simple Flying, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) had the largest numbers of departures scheduled during Q2 of 2026, respectively. Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that FLL had 5,168 Spirit flight this quarter and MCO had 3,484. The airports together accounted for 24.4% of the airline’s total departures. Beyond Florida, other airports with substantial operations from Spirit include Newark (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA) and Atlanta (ATL), which accounted for 3,963 departures in total. Spirit also had a large presence at Detroit (DTW), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Dallas (DFW) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) airports.