Published: May 16, 2008 01:32 am      

Myrtle Beach flights begin May 31

BRIDGEPORT — A new weekly flight service to Myrtle Beach, S.C., from the North Central West Virginia Airport will start on May 31, an airport official said.

The “public charter” flights on Southern Skyways are scheduled to run every Saturday through Labor Day, said Jim Griffith, the airport director.

The flight will stop in Charleston to pick up passengers there for the trip to the popular Grand Strand resort, he said Thursday. The airline will use a 115-seat DC-9-30 jet for the flights.

Information and tickets are available online or through local travel agents. Residents may use a link to Southern Skyways on the airport’s Web site: www.flyckb.com.

Through April 30, the airport’s estimated number of passenger emplanements stands at 3,183. Griffith reported the numbers to the airport authority board at a Wednesday meeting.

The airport is trying to achieve 10,000 passenger emplanements this year. If it is successful, it could land a $1 million federal subsidy.

The total includes 1,960 passengers on the airport’s new United Express flights to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.

United Express offers three daily flights to Dulles. Two flights stop in Morgantown while the third is a nonstop flight to United Airline’s passenger center at Dulles.

Charter flights, including a number for West Virginia University’s athletic teams, account for another 1,060 passengers, Griffith said.

E-mail Bill Byrd at bbyrd@timeswv.com.