Southern Skyways Adds Ohio, Pennsylvania & Illinois Flights to Myrtle Beach

The news came fast and furiously on Wednesday as Chicago Rockford (Ill.) International Airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Pa.) International Airport and Dayton (Ohio) International Airport all announced that Atlanta-based Southern Skyways will be flying passengers to Myrtle Beach this summer.

The new Rockford route comes on the heels of that airport’s 26-percent increase in passenger travel in 2007, and returns a Grand Strand flight option not seen there since Hooters Air last provided it in December 2005. From May 23 to Sept. 1, the flight will depart Mondays and Fridays with fares ranging from $129 to $179 each way (plus taxes and fees).

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s non-stop Myrtle Beach service begins May 21, with fares starting at $79 each way. The direct flight also adds a new convenience to an area whose county airport has only offered connecting service to popular vacation destinations.

Dayton’s service – also non-stop – runs May 23 through Labor Day on Mondays and Fridays, and offers one-way fares ranging from $79 to $129. "Our passengers have been telling us for some time that Myrtle Beach is a direct destination they would like served from Dayton, and we are most pleased that it has become a reality," said Iftikhar Ahmad, Dayton director of aviation, in this Dayton Business Journal article.