Spirit Airlines Launches Flights To Rochester International Airport

Spirit Airlines is adding Rochester’s Frederick Douglass International Airport (ROC) to its route map this upcoming northern summer. The Florida-based ultra-low-cost carrier will start flying between Rochester and Orlando daily and Rochester and Myrtle Beach four times a week from June 24. Rochester is also Spirit’s first upstate New York destination.

Spirit flights from Rochester to Orlando & Myrtle Beach

Spirit Airlines has NK3012 departing Orlando at 08:00 every day from the June start date. After a gate to gate time of two and three-quarter hours, the Airbus 319 service is scheduled to have passengers deplaning at 10:44. After a speedy turnaround, NK2025 pushes back in Rochester at 11:26 and is back on the ground in Orlando at 14:09.

“The Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is the only upstate New York airport offering air services on Spirit Airlines,” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. “We welcome Spirit’s commitment and investment in our community and ROC Airport.”

Spirit joins a range of US airlines already flying into Rochester Airport. Those airlines include Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, and United Airlines. Before COVID-19 disrupted flights, Rochester Airport handled approximately 120 flights per day that served 19 nonstop destinations. Approximately 2.4 million passengers moved through the airport in the same year.

Located four miles southwest of Rochester City, the airport facilitates air links to other cities in the northeast and major hubs in the Midwest. In addition, ROC serves as an important economic component of the air transportation network connecting Western New York to other parts of the United States.

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Spirit Airlines will fly daily between Rochester and Orlando from June 24. Photo: Spirit Airlines

Myrtle Beach gets some more airline love

On the same day in June, Spirit Airlines will also start flying between Rochester and Myrtle Beach. The popular South Carolina holiday spot has received a lot of love from various US carriers lately. Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), which likes to style itself as the best small airport in the US, is already served by Spirit alongside eight other US carriers. Spirit Airlines presently flies to over 20 destinations from MYR.

From June 24, Spirit Airlines will depart Myrtle Beach at 11:10 every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and make the two-hour flight north to Rochester, touching down at 13:10. The flight is tagged as NK2022. The Airbus A319 flights back to Myrtle Beach operate on the same day, leaving ROC at 13:55. NK2026 is due at the gate in Myrtle Beach at 15:55.

Spirit Airlines will add a four times a week services between Myrtle Beach and Rochester in June. Photo: Spirit Airlines

Myrtle Beach Airport handled a record 3,210,247 passengers last year. That number was up 23% on then record 2019 passenger numbers and 188% up on 2020 passenger numbers. A substantial upgrade of the terminal has helped bolster those numbers. However, the region’s long-established reputation as a holiday destination proved a strong pull factor for US airlines in the last year or two.

With passenger numbers down across networks and international flying severely curtailed, many previously under the radar local ports (like Myrtle Beach) that continued to perform well enjoyed a lot of renewed interest from airlines. Spirit Airlines says it will be the only airline flying nonstop between Rochester and Myrtle Beach.