Two planes sit outside a hangar at the Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce. This week Fly The Whale will be the first airline in decades to provide commercial service. The first flight leaves Friday for Tallahassee.
“We’re seeing the ability to fill flights on the Treasure Coast," said Kurt Holden, Director of Operations for Fly The Whale.
The initial plan is to fly roundtrip from St. Lucie County to Tallahassee twice a week.
Elite Airways has seen commercial success in nearby Vero Beach. St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky says Treasure Coast International, one of the largest airports in the state by size, should see the same success.
“Geographical location of St. Lucie County being perfect between Melbourne, Orlando, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale. Centrally located 60-80 miles and from that circumference, hundreds of thousands of people will live and travel to," said Dzadovsky.
The airport will see a lot of construction in 2018, from cosmetic work out front where a new entryway is being built, to new hangar construction.
“We need to do runway work, some painting. We already have all those assets in place. We just need to maintain those assets and improve what we already have," said Airport Manager John Wiatrak.
Both Wiatrak and Dzadovsky are bullish on future commercial service expansion. Fly The Whale says it wants to hear from the community on where else to go.
“We would even contemplate other locations like Tampa, Jacksonville or Miami," said Holden.
Holden says the time is right to start with the Legislature in session. One way tickets cost $325. The company also plans to fly to the Bahamas, once it gets approval from the Bahamian government.
The county is holding the first of many meetings to discuss the Master Plan for the airport Thursday night at the County Commission chambers off Virginia Avenue in Fort Pierce from 5 to 8 p.m.