Fort Lauderdale Fun

Dear wearied traveler, you look like you need a vacation. Have you considered the sun and fun of Fort Lauderdale, Florida? Beginning November 5, AirTran Airways will serve Fort Lauderdale nonstop from Harrisburg International Airport (HIA)!

You can fancy yourself a boater, beach comber, sailor, golfer, shopper, swimmer, and more while on vacation in Fort Lauderdale (FLL). This dynamic city offers beaches, hotels, restaurants, attractions, events, and much more. Sign-up to receive a free visitor's guide.

To put you in the beach-trip planning mode, why not add some of the following "summery" tunes to your MP3 playlist? Recommendations, courtesy of the Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors' Bureau.

• The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
• Sheryl Crow - Soak Up the Sun
• Katrina & The Waves - Walking on Sunshine
• Stevie Wonder - You are the Sunshine of My life
• The Eagles - Tequila Sunrise
• The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon
• Smashmouth - Walking on the Sun
• Beach Boys - Keepin' the Summer Alive
• Celine Dion - Sunshine in the Heart
• George Michael - Ray of Sunshine
• Don Henley - Boys of Summer
• ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses

E-mail us for a free parking offer from HIA, good for the FLL flights on AirTran departing during the month of November 2009! So, why wait? Book your trip today and escape the cold weather months with a warm weather trip to the beaches of Fort Lauderdale!

What is MDT?

When you book a flight to or from HIA, you will notice that our Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) booking code is MDT. That stands for Middletown, PA – where HIA is physically located. But that’s not the whole story: MDT also stands for the Money, Distance, and Time you could save by flying out of HIA.

Everyone knows that HIA is convenient. But thanks to offerings like AirTran Airways’ daily low fares and nonstop flights to Orlando and Atlanta, fares to most destinations are as affordable as ever. In fact, the average airfare from MDT in 2009 is down by 15%!

Learn more about how you can save Money, Distance & Time. And enter to win the MDT Giveaway! If you win the giveaway, what destination will you fly to? Do you have an MDT savings experience to share?

Internetiquette for Inflight WiFi Users

Now that AirTran Airways is the first major airline to have WiFi available on their entired aircraft fleet, they have authored an Internetiquette manual for inflight wireless network usage. Tips range from discouraging the use of the lavatory as your personal conference room (tip #134) to encouraging you to meet your row mates (tip #127) for the purpose of being friendly, not so that you can search for them online!

What tips are missing? Do you have any thoughtful suggestions?

AirTran Airways serves Orlando (MCO) and Atlanta (ATL) from MDT with daily, nonstop service on 717 aircraft equipped with free WiFi!

Security Checkpoint 101

Departing travelers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requests that you use the following tips for making your security checkpoint process as efficient and comfortable as possible.

Pack Smart

• Pack your carry-on in organized layers


• If you can put your oversized electronics in your checked baggage, please do so


• Perpare you ONE quart-sized, clear, plastic zip-top bag of liquids before arriving at the airport


• Coats and jackets are recommended to be packed in checked baggage


• Do not wrap gifts


• Undeveloped film should go in your carry-on bag, so that 800-speed or higher can be declared to a TSA officer for hand inspection


• When it doubt, leave it out. Check it or leave it at home.

Dress the Part
The following items may set off the metal detector alarm.

• Keys


• Loose change


• Mobile phones and pagers


• Personal Data Assistants (PDAs)


• Heavy jewelry


• Clothing containing metal buttons, snaps or studs


• Metal hair barrettes or other hair adornments


• Belt buckles


• Under-wire bra


• Body piercings (which may cause you to require additional screening)
  *you may ask to privately remove the piercing to avoid a pat-down search

Head coverings and religious garmets may be worn during screening. If your head covering or clothing (religious or otherwise) is loose fitting/large enough to conceal prohibited items you may be directed to additional screening.

Shoes, need to be removed before you enter the walk-through metal detector.

Have the Following Ready

• Boarding Pass


• Acceptable for of ID
  *Click here to see the full list of acceptable forms of identification.

Hassle-Free Security Tips

• Arrive on time


• Wear slip-on shoes


• Remove pets from their carrying cases
  *Hold them as you pass through the metal detector


• Take children/infants out of their baby carriers/strollers
  *Take them through the metal detector with you


• Think before you speak

The full reporting of this information is available on the TSA's web site. HIA recommends reading through the For Travelers content on the site before departing for the airport. Knowledge is power, so "know before you go"!

High-flying tweets!

That's right your regional airport is on Twitter, and we're tweeting away! @HIAairport will provide updates on weather, conditions, delays, and just "plane" fun conversations!

We would love to hear what's going on with you when you fly, so be sure to tweet your #MDT experiences and we'll make note of them. If you tweet @HIAairport with a couple days notice of a departure from HIA, you'll get a fun surprise from us!

So, if you're on Twitter and want a mutual follow, let us know. Leave a comment with your @account name or send us a reply on Twitter. Happy tweeting, tweeps!

Congressman Holden delivers $1.9 million to HIA

(Middletown, PA – June 15, 2009) Congressman Tim Holden, (PA-17) today presented the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) with a check in the amount of $1,946,585 from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airport Improvement Program for Environmental Mitigation and Rehabilitation of the Runway Lighting System at Harrisburg International Airport.

“As part of the Federal Government's continuing investment into key aspects of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, today I’m pleased to deliver to SARAA slightly more than $1.9 million to be used on two important airport projects—one environmental related, the other safety related,” said Holden.

“On behalf of SARAA, I’d like to thank Congressman Holden, the FAA and our entire Congressional delegation for their continued support of aviation improvement projects at HIA,” said Tim Edwards, Executive Director. “Thanks to today’s announcement, we’ll be able to complete one major project and begin another important one here at HIA.”

The majority of the grant money delivered today is for the final construction of the airports new Waste Water Treatment Facility. The facility, scheduled to become operational in September, will be one of the first in the region to be compliant with the new discharge limitations established by the Department of Environmental Protection and Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Strategy.

The remainder of the grant money will be used for a project to update and replace wiring, cabling and lighting along runway 13/31 at HIA.

Cure for the Fear of Flying?

The answer -how about flying nonstop for 30 days straight? That's right! Aviatophobe, Mark Malkoff is kicking off a jet-setting excursion to cure himself of this fear. He'll be aboard an AirTran Airways plane nonstop until the end of June. Hear more about the impetus for his month-long journey here. Mark's journey will be documented on Twitter and Facebook. Feel free to keep in touch with him!

Are you brave enough to do the same? Or, prefer to steer clear of your fears?

Your new favorite hot spot is at 10,000 feet!

Ever have the urge to log onto your favorite airport's blog while you were cruising at 10,000 feet, but have the sudden realization that you couldn't? Well that landscape is changing as more and more airlines are adding inflight wireless internet services to their flights.

This morning, AirTran Airways announced that they will provide inflight WiFi on every flight by July 2009. AirTran is not the first to implement this amenity to its flights, click here for a list of WiFi-providing airlines.

Have you already surfed your favorite airport blog while inflight? If so, which airline were you flying at the time? Did you vote in the Every Flight effort AirTran spearheaded? We did! Our vote was for access to our blog for all AirTran passengers!

Web Site Development

The airport's web site will be seeing a few minor layout changes over the next week or two. While we're in the building mode, we're wondering what your thoughts are on web site usability and content. Do you have constructive suggestions regarding flyhia.com? If so, post 'em here!

Atlanta, Affordable.

Atlanta is now easier than ever, with daily nonstop service from HIA on AirTran Airways. Connect to more than 38 cities, including Fort Lauderdale, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas. And take advantage of a low-fare airline with full-sized airplanes, business class, free drinks and satellite radio. All at the airport that’s closer to home. Go. There’s nothing stopping you. Service starts June 11. Book today at http://www.airtran.com/.