Officials with the Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) say that arrivals and departures are beginning to look a little more normal for the first time since the pandemic began.
The Airport's airlines are beginning to add back service as demand for air travel slowly returns. Airport officials say nearly 400 daily passengers traveled through Santa Barbara over the 4th of July weekend, which is the largest number of daily passengers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Airport says they continue to maintain strict cleanliness protocols, physical distancing and mandatory face coverings.
A new destination has been added to the SBA schedule. Alaska Airlines resumed daily service to Portland, Oregon (PDX) on July 1 with a stop in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County (STS). Santa Barbara area residents can book flights from SBA to STS on Alaska Airlines' website for $164 each way. This service will be available in July and August. In September, Alaska anticipates restoring daily direct service to Portland.
In August, available seat capacity will increase by 10-13% over July, but still will be 50-60% less capacity than in August 2019.
The current August schedule is as follows:
Alaska: One daily flight to Seattle (SEA) and Portland (PDX) via Santa Rosa (STS)
American: Two daily flights to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Phoenix (PHX)
Delta: Service to Salt Lake City (SLC) suspended through September 30
United: Three daily flights to San Francisco (SFO) and one daily flight to Denver (DEN). Service to LAX still suspended.
For more information on flight schedules and booking, visit this website.
