A plane from Breeze Airlines sits on the runway at the West Virginia International Yeager Airport on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Breeze Airlines will resume nonstop service to Tampa, Florida, in October and add up to four additional nonstop destinations.
A plane from Breeze Airlines sits on the runway at the West Virginia International Yeager Airport on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Breeze Airlines will resume nonstop service to Tampa, Florida, in October and add up to four additional nonstop destinations.
RICK STEELHAMMER | HD ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Gov. Patrick Morrisey helps to announce five new airline routes coming to Charleston Yeager Airport during a press conference Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
CHARLESTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Low-cost carrier Breeze Airways will resume nonstop service to Tampa, Florida, in October and add up to four additional nonstop destinations to West Virginia International Yeager AirportÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s flight schedule during the next two years, Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the airline announced Tuesday.
Nonstop service to and from Tampa International Airport will return to Charleston on Mondays and Fridays starting Oct. 3, with one-way fares starting at $49, Fiona Kiesel, Breeze AirwaysÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ chief guest officer, said at a news conference at the Charleston airport.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAs we have continued to build our brand awareness in this state and region, we have seen growing demand for our service,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Kiesel said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe now have nonstop flights from Charleston to Newark and Orlando and seasonal flights to Myrtle Beach. In addition to Tampa, weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll be adding up to four more cities.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Morrisey said state, county and airport officials are encouraging the airline to prioritize Las Vegas and either Dallas or Houston as the next nonstop destinations from the Charleston airport.
The added air service, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œgives West Virginia more opportunities to connect with the rest of the world,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ while allowing travelers from other parts of the nation ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œsee what the Mountain State has to offer,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Morrisey said.
Since Breeze began operating at CRW in May 2023, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œit has doubled the number of nonstop destinations and generated $27 million in economic output,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Morrisey said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt has also helped reduce airfares here by 12% through the power of competition,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ he added.
The return of the nonstop Tampa route and the planned additional destinations are ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œa direct response to passenger demand and the continued success of our partnership with Breeze and the state of West Virginia,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ said Dominique Ranieri, the Charleston airportÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s director and CEO.
The new two-year partnership with the airline includes support from the West Virginia Division of Tourism, the Charleston Area Alliance, Kanawha County Commission and the city of Charleston. A new Small Community Air Service Development Grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation will be used to support the effort to add a Charleston-Las Vegas flight.
Breeze began offering seasonal nonstop service to Tampa in 2023. The following year, Tampa became the second stop on seasonal flights to Myrtle Beach continuing on to Florida. Breeze Airways operates flights serving 72 cities in 32 states, using a fleet of 137-seat Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
Rick Steelhammer is a features reporter. He can be reached at 304-348-5169 or rsteelhammer@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ on X.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
