Sun Country Airlines to resume seasonal flights from Melbourne to Minneapolis-St. Paul

After a successful Space Coast debut last winter, Sun Country Airlines will resume its seasonal twice-weekly nonstop flights linking Melbourne Orlando International Airport with chilly Minneapolis-St. Paul on Dec. 15.

"We are pleased to start our second year of season service to the Melbourne area. Melbourne provides our customers with access to the Space Coast and Cocoa Beach," Sun Country spokesperson Wendy Burt said in an email.

"Minnesotans love Florida, and Melbourne is one of 12 Florida cities we serve," Burt said.

Based in Minneapolis, Sun Country reported third-quarter revenues of $249 million, up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As of Sept. 30, the low-cost carrier had 42 aircraft in its passenger-service fleet and 12 freighter aircraft for cargo operations, with five aircraft held for operating lease.

Sun Country will fly Boeing 737 aircraft to and from Melbourne through late spring, Greg Donovan airport executive director, said during Monday's Melbourne Airport Authority meeting. He said the carrier's MLB flights last winter averaged about 89% of passenger capacity.

"It really was popular last year. We're expecting the same type of a thing again: connecting people that live here with their families up north, and definitely bringing people from Minneapolis-St. Paul," Donovan said.

"I don't know if you've seen the weather up there lately, but it's worth coming down here now," he said, generating laughter.

In a Monday morning tweet, National Weather Service Twin Cities officials said, "the main story this week is warm temperatures, with highs in the 40s to near 50 by Thursday."

October 2022 story: Sun Country Airlines to debut winter flights between Melbourne and Minneapolis-St. Paul

Last month in Melbourne, Allegiant Air debuted new twice-weekly flights to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and resumed its seasonal nonstop flights to Nashville, Tennessee.

In contrast, Avelo Airlines is pulling the plug on its short-lived Melbourne flights after only a seven-month run. Only six more days of flights are scheduled to and from New Haven, Connecticut, before service ends on Jan. 6.

"We're excited about (Sun Country). Again, much like the Allentown service, if we can demonstrate the viability of this I think it will turn into something that's more of a routine. Because the market is certainly there," Donovan said.

Through the end of October, total incoming and outgoing passengers at the Melbourne airport — which operates in the shadow of far-larger Orlando International Airport — continued accumulating at a record annual pace.

Total passengers for the year clocked in at 653,823, up 6.2% from last year's sum of 615,521 passengers. Total domestic passengers increased 13.5% year-over-year, from 367,023 to 416,537.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

Support local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital access to floridatoday.com. Click here and subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Sun Country to resume seasonal flights from Melbourne to Twin Cities