NEW CASTLE – Frontier Airlines will launch round-trip service between New Castle County Airport and Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, Nov. 12, after a six-month delay attributed to the coronavirus.

It appears the round-trip fare from Wilmington (ILG) will be $178 round-trip fare and $89 one-way, although other prices for other dates did pop up during multiple visits to the Frontier website on Monday. The airline is using a larger plane that originally planned, with the site showing a 180-seat Airbus A320.

Officials with Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the airport, confirmed in early April that the airline had postponed its return “indefinitely,” but declined to answer any other questions concerning the decision. State and county officials expressed disappointment, but said they understood the reasons for the delay.

The airline had planned to launch its return to Delaware on May 14, starting with three low-cost flights per week to Orlando. Frontier’s website is listing flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from both cities.

“This is good news and a positive development for the airport and the community it serves,” DRBA spokesman James Salmon said. “We look forward to that first flight.”

Notably, the New Castle County Airport received a $157,000 grant from the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act passed by Congress last month. It disseminated grant funds across nearly all airports in order to help them survive through a period of dramatically lower flights and passenger service due to stay-at-home orders in effect in nearly every state.

By Peter Osborne

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