Sun Country Airlines launching flights from St. Pete-Clearwater to Minneapolis

A direct flight from Pinellas County to Minnesota is returning to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

Sun Country Airlines will launch a new route from St. Pete-Clearwater to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in November, the airport and airline announced Tuesday.

Flights will begin Nov. 25, initially running on Thursday and Sunday, and then Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday starting in December.

Sun Country operates just one flight in and out of St. Pete-Clearwater, a private route to Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss. But the Minnesota flight may feel familiar to some travelers, as Sun Country also had a direct flight from St. Pete-Clearwater to Minneapolis-St. Paul from 2006 to 2008.

Tuesday’s announcement is part of an expansion of 18 new routes for Sun Country, including flights to Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. The airline also flies from Sarasota-Bradenton, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

The Minneapolis company recently went public, raising more than $200 million during an initial public offering in March.

Domestic passenger traffic at St. Pete-Clearwater International was up 23 percent over March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic nixed a lot of airline travel, but is still down 25 percent from March 2019.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified another destination offered by Sun Country from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. The airline currently operates a charter flight to Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.