WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. -- The Salisbury Regional Airport is in talks with a low-cost airline to offer travelers flights to and from Florida. To do that, they need help raising money, both federally and locally.
On Tuesday, July 2nd, Wicomico and Worcester County governments both pledged their support, in the form of $50,000, to get the ball rolling.
The 50-grand will help, because bringing a new airline to Salisbury won't be cheap. Airport Manager Tony Rudy said new carriers take a big risk, so any help the airport can provide can go a long way.
"We do things such as waive fees for a period of time, if they need space in the last terminal to rent we will waive rental fees," said Rudy. "We help them with advertising and marketing, and this is just the last piece of the puzzle, the revenue guarantee portion."
Doing all of that costs money, which is why the airport is targeting a federal grant that could land them $800,000. Called the Small Community Air Service Development Grant, offered up by the US DOT, it helps small airports that are underserved, have high ticket prices or have few destination options attract new carriers.
It's a competitive grant, and Rudy said local support plays a big role.
"They[US DOT] look at what kind of community support is behind the grant, not only in terms of letters of support but also financially," said Rudy.
The airport is looking for $200,000 from local governments and private investors. Wicomico County and Worcester County have both pledged $50,000, and Rudy said as of Wednesday morning they have about $70,000 from local businesses and investors.
Jeff Merritt, a Wicomico County Councilmember, said they offered up their support with the hopes of drawing more businesses to the area.
"If you're thinking of moving your company here to our area and you have an airline that flies back and forth to Florida and you can promote that to your employees, that might be an incentive to bring businesses to Wicomico County," said Merritt.
Worcester County Commissioner Eric Fiori also envisions more flights helping economically, but views it as a positive for neighbors.
"Many of our residents either have second homes in the Florida area or visit there quite frequently," said Fiori. "It allows them to come back considerably more often, especially during the offseason."
Rudy couldn't tell us which airline is interested or how much each flight would cost, but said travelers would be "surprised" at these potential new prices.
He also said the goal would be to have two to three flights going back and forth each week.
If all goes well, the new airline could start offering flights by early 2025.
