SALISBURY, Md- Delaware's status as the only state in the country without commercial air service is ending.
Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday that it will begin flights from Wilmington-New Castle Airport to Orlando starting May 14.
The summer flights will be offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Delaware has been without commercial airline service since Frontier left in 2015 after a two-year run. Denver-based Frontier, an ultra low-cost airline, began service in Delaware in July 2013.
It once offered flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, and three Florida destinations. It later limited service to Orlando and Tampa before ceasing operations in 2015.
But now that it's back, many question what this means for Salisbury Regional Airport. County leaders say the recent addition of flight service in the First State will not be problematic to the Salisbury Regional Airport.
Wicomico County Administrator Wayne Strasburg said, "You still have to drive to Wilmington, which is not a whole lot different than driving to Baltimore."
County executives say additional flights out of northern Delaware will not pose direct competition, and they will not be adding flights out of Salisbury as an incentive for those here, anytime soon.
"The passenger load at Piedmont Airlines catchment area is still not what it should be and if we attract another airline to the Salisbury Airport, we would be nibbling at or undercutting the potential for Piedmont," Strasburg said.
Business leaders like Bill Chambers, president of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, says he would like to see additional flights out of Salisbury to Orlando, maybe even Dallas. However, he says until Piedmont fills its seats on a more consistent basis, new flight routes may not come to Salisbury anytime soon.
But Chambers says the new service in Wilmington will more than likely affect Philadelphia's region rather than Salisbury due to proximity.