Delta Air Lines first flight of its new Salt Lake City-to-Durango route arrived today and was welcomed with a salute of streaming water from two fire engines.
Tony Vicari, airport aviation director, said, “The addition of a third major network carrier at DRO is great news for our community. Travelers flying between Durango and Salt Lake City are gaining access to the robust Delta route network, providing additional choices as well as increased destination and connectivity options.”
The flight to Salt Lake City International Airport will be offered by Delta Connection service and operated by SkyWest Airlines. Tickets are available now at delta.com.
On Wednesday, a round-trip flight leaving Durango on Monday and returning on Tuesday was listed for $597.
The plane will be a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200.
Flights will be operated daily, with one departure and arrival seven days per week. Beginning May 26, flight frequency will increase to two daily departures and arrivals seven days per week.
Vicari said the airport is approaching pre-pandemic levels, and passenger traffic is expected to pick up during the busy summer travel season.
He said air travelers should arrive at the airport a minimum of 90 minutes before their flight departs.
When traveling internationally, traveling with large groups or traveling with multiple bags, Vicari said passengers should arrive a full two hours before the departure of their flight.
“While DRO is incredibly convenient and easy to navigate, we’ve recently been seeing more individuals arriving with very little time to spare and subsequently missing their flights,” he said.
Travelers should be familiar with their airline’s check-in policy, and all carriers have hard cutoff times for both check-in and baggage acceptance at the ticket counter in order to keep flights running on time, he said.
Vicari added the new flight to Salt Lake City opens more options for people flying out of Durango.
“Connectivity throughout the western U.S. out of Salt Lake is very strong, and accessibility to markets such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and many others will improve with the addition of Delta,” he said.
The airport is now served by three of the largest U.S. airlines: American, Delta and United – offering year-round daily nonstop routes to Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, along with seasonal service to Los Angeles International Airport.
The airport operates as an enterprise fund of the city of Durango and generates self-sustaining revenue from airport tenants and users in the form of airline rent and landing fees, terminal concessions, ground leases and parking fees.
The airport does not receive funding from local taxes.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
