COLUMBIA – Hira Bashir, a resident of Columbia, was thrilled to learn about Columbia Metropolitan Airport’s new direct flights to Newark. As a biology teacher at Lexington One, Bashir and her family were planning a summer trip to visit relatives in New Jersey and New York City. They had considered making the 10-hour drive, but after reading about the new flights on the airport’s website in May, they quickly booked a ticket for the first day of service.

Bashir and her family were among the estimated 2,500 passengers who flew out of Columbia on Spirit’s first day of service. The airline now offers nonstop flights to Newark Liberty International Airport and Orlando International Airport, making them the only direct flights to those destinations from Columbia. Allegiant Air, which began service last month, also shares a route with Spirit to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando Sanford.

At a June 5 event at the boarding gate for the Newark flight, Kim Crafton, the airport’s vice president of marketing and air service development, expressed her excitement for the new addition. She also addressed the frequent questions she received about when Columbia would get another airline or more routes. “I’m thrilled that we can finally put an exclamation point on the answer to that last question,” Crafton said, referring to the airport by its code, CAE.

Passengers waiting to board the Newark flight expressed their satisfaction with the new direct link to the New York metro area. Many also mentioned the cost savings compared to flying out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which is almost two hours away. Aiken resident Debbie Fadde, 69, was happy to save over $100 on her round trip fare from Columbia to Newark, a significant difference from what she would have paid when flying out of Charlotte.

Sean Donaldson, a 23-year-old HVAC technician from Columbia, shared that the direct flight to Newark was crucial for him to make it to his girlfriend’s graduation party in Manasquan, New Jersey. Without this flight, he would have had to take a layover, which could have made him late for the event. Zohair Anjum, an electrical engineer from Columbia, was excited to visit his family in Staten Island for the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday. He mentioned that the direct flight was not only convenient, but also cost-effective, with his ticket being around $150.

For Meaghan Brasington, a 35-year-old resident of Columbia, the new flight to Newark was a game-changer. She and her family, with a 4-month-old baby and a 3-year-old son, were traveling to her hometown in Staten Island to visit relatives. Brasington shared that in the past, they would have had to drive to Charlotte or Charleston and leave a car overnight, making the trip more expensive and inconvenient. With the new direct flight, they could now travel with ease and convenience.

Overall, the addition of Spirit’s direct