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HARRISON, N.Y. Discount airline AirTran Airways, which makes up about 20 percent of flights at the Westchester County Airport, will cease operations there on Aug. 11.
In published reports, Airport Manager Peter Scherrer said that he contacted AirTrans parent company Southwest Airlines to tell them it is a mistake to leave, adding that an unknown amount of layoffs may occur because of the decision. Whitney Eichinger, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, said the company wants to bring AirTran into the Southwest network of flights, which means canceling service at some locations including Westchester County.
AirTran Airways can no longer support service to these particular markets due to the realities of the challenging economic environment and especially sustained high fuel prices," Eichinger said. "We've had to place a keener focus on aligning our service with customer demand and making capacity available for future opportunities without growing the current fleet.
AirTran currently serves 300,000 of the approximately 2 million passengers who use the Westchester County Airport each year.
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