BURLINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -
The Departure Board at Burlington International Airport will soon have an added route: a daily Delta flight to Atlanta. It's the first since 2009.
"I think they absolutely need more flights out of here and the more the better," said traveler Mia Peck of Plattsburgh, NY.
The flight will take off at 7:15 a.m. and arrive at 9:46 a.m. The plane will hold 149 passengers. There will also be a returning flight at 8:30 p.m. which will have you back in the Green Mountain State at 11:02 p.m.
Mia Peck hopes it will bring convenience to what she says is a clustered airport. "I think it'll alleviate some of the cluster and overbooking of flights and it will make travel a little more convenient for people," she said.
Atlanta is the world's single largest airport hub. Which means from Burlington you can soon connect to more than 207 destinations -- 60 of which are international.
"This is exciting, good news for the airport," said Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger. "This is the first real addition of service since the great recession began and it's further confirmation that we've turned the corner and the airport is headed toward good times."
But that's not the only news at the airport -- the city council approved a staffing shakeup at its meeting Monday night. Six full and part time positions will be eliminated due to restructuring of duties and jobs and a new marketing assistant will be created. Airport officials and Mayor Miro Weinberger hope the new position will lead to further expanded air service in the future.
"It's one of those things that's been called out for by various studies and committees that we really do need a greater marketing effort," Weinberger said.
The new flight was made possible in part by a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The first flight is set to take off this summer.
