United Airlines plans to add daily nonstop service from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport to Fort Myers, Florida and to Tampa, beginning Dec. 17.
The announcement came Wednesday, despite a sharp decline in air travel over the past few months due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to Mitchell’s most recent monthly data, 133,700 passengers used the airport in June, compared to about 605,900 during the same month last year.
“This is an outstanding opportunity to take advantage of MKE’s friendly travel experience,” said Airport Director Brian Dranzik. “These new flights – combined with easy access from spacious terminal areas and quick, convenient gate access – are sure to be a hit with travelers from throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois.”
Currently, United runs regular nonstop service from Milwaukee to Chicago, Denver, Houston and New York. It will join Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines as the only airlines with direct routes between Milwaukee and both Tampa and Fort Myers.
“It’s fantastic to see that United Airlines is expanding its presence from our hometown airport,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “These new flights to Florida will give travelers another great option to access the west coast of Florida, which is a very popular destination for travelers from our region.”
Tickets for United’s new flights are now available for purchase through the airline’s website and app.
The service will be operated with full-size Airbus A319 aircraft.
Flights will depart Milwaukee for Tampa at 9:15 a.m. and from Tampa at 1:55 p.m. Flights will depart Milwaukee for Fort Myers at 10:25 a.m. and from Fort Myers at 3:05 p.m.
The addition marks United’s largest expansion of “point-to-point, non-hub flying” and is a response to customer demand, said Ankit Gupta, the airline’s vice president of domestic network planning. It was also a decision based off of customer demand.
