Grand Strand Season, Ep. 6: Flying Into MYR — New Gates, 59 Nonstops and Life After Spirit
Dear Sir or Madam,
GRAND STRAND SEASON · Episode 6 · Getting here
Most Grand Strand visitors still drive in. The airport is where the growth is, though.
The terminal grew
Myrtle Beach International (MYR) opened six new gates on Concourse A on Dec. 1, 2025. The 50,000-square-foot expansion took 17 months and cost $93.5 million, $4.5 million under budget and about six weeks early (Horry County, Dec 2, 2025).
Traffic
MYR set a record of 3,837,052 passengers in 2024, up nearly 14% from 2023. It was also named #1 Best Small Airport in the U.S. by USA Today 10Best readers (Visit Myrtle Beach CVB).
New routes for 2026
- Allegiant: seasonal Dayton, OH and Elmira, NY, from May 22, 2026. That brought MYR to 59 nonstop destinations, the most of any South Carolina airport (report, Nov 2025).
- Breeze: seasonal Pittsburgh from July 3, 2026 (Mon Valley Independent).
Spirit is gone
On May 2, 2026, MYR said Spirit Airlines had stopped operating after nearly 30 years there. The airport had already spread service across other carriers, so Spirit’s share of seats had dropped from about 50% in 2020 to about 23% in 2025. MYR expects other airlines may pick up former Spirit routes (MYR).
What it means locally
- Rental owners: list the nonstop cities your guests fly from. “Nonstop from Pittsburgh” sells a listing.
- Ride, shuttle and valet businesses: more gates mean more arrivals with no car, which is part of why we explore valet in the next episode.
GRAND STRAND SEASON is GrandStrand.app’s running guide to living, visiting and doing business on the Grand Strand, from Little River to Pawleys Island. Previous: Ep. 5. Next: Ep. 7, the valet question.
📚 Read the whole storyline on the Boston Made Reader → Storylines · Find parking with Spot Check.
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