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AVOCA — The Bi-County Airport Board on Thursday unanimously approved hosting the Northeastern Pennsylvania Air Show at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport from Aug. 12-13.

The show, back after a 17-year absence, will feature several acts:

• The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team.

• The U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight Team.

• An F-22 Raptor demo team.

• A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet demo team.

Additional civilian attractions will be announced in the coming weeks, as will a number of food vendors.

Tickets go on sale at 1 p.m. March 31 and will be available on the air show’s website, nepairshow.com. Tickets, if bought in advance, will be $18 for adults and $13 for children 6-12. Children under 5 will be admitted free. Day-of-the-event tickets will be $20 for adults and $15 for children 6-12.

“This is 17 years in the making,” said Airport Board Chairman Tim McGinley. He thanked the airport management team for its hard work in bringing back “this exceptional community event.”

Patrick O’Malley, vice chairman of the airport board, called the announcement a great day for Northeast Pennsylvania.

“This community event was well-supported years ago, and make no exception, this will be a quality event once again,” said O’Malley.

He said the board has been talking about bringing back the show since 2013.

“This event is about family fun, lasting memories and community,” he said.

Carl Beardsley, airport executive director, said free parking will be available at the Northeast Fair grounds with free shuttle service to the airport. Beardsley said the goal is to break even on the event; a $375,000 budget has been set.

In other business, Beardsley reported that demotion of the old terminal building will begin within the next few weeks. He said once the building is demolished and the site cleared, it will be developed — half for vehicle parking and the other half for aircraft parking.

Beardsley also reported that boardings for February were up 1,138 passengers over February 2016. He said it was the second busiest February in airport history. He said several departing flights were canceled due to weather and revenue for the month was down compared to a year ago.

The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_goldknight-3.jpg.optimal.jpgThe U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team

Times Leader staff