It's a big day for the Ogdensburg International Airport.
The airport's grand opening Wednesday celebrated a $26 million completed expansion project. After three years of planning, a runway at the airport has been expanded and lengthened to accomodate bigger planes.
Now, Allegiant Airlines can fly out of the airport. Allegiant offers direct flights to Florida and can carry more than 175 passengers on its planes. The first passengers were greeted at Ogdensburg with a water salute over the plane.
Both Allegiant Airlines and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority tell us the expansion is a big win for North Country and Canadian travelers.
"This is where the economy starts to change, right now," said OBPA Executive Director Wade Davis. "With the influx of Canadian and U.S. dollars, direct point-to-point service, this is the service the North Country has demanded for many years and has not been able to get. Now it's up to the North Country. We've delivered it; now it's up to the North Country to use it."
"Ogdensburg is the place that we love to bring people in," said Allegiant Airlines Director of Stations Michelle Cohen. "We'd love to bring affordable travel, so people can go non-stop from point A to point B, direct. And so it's a great chance for us to bring more passengers into both the Florida region and to Ogdensburg."
A baggage claim system has also been added in the terminal, and the parking lot has expanded 500 spaces.