LAKELAND – Zach Maiden-Fountain didn’t set out for any attention, but it happened anyway.

Maiden-Fountain was the first passenger to check in for first commercial passenger flight from Lakeland in more than a decade.

At noon Thursday, the first Avelo Airlines flight from Lakeland Linder International Airport ventured upward into somewhat cloudy skies on its way to Tweed-New Haven Airport in southern Connecticut — a gateway to 15 towns that make up Greater New Haven.

Maiden-Fountain was one of 134 passengers aboard the approximately 2 hour, 45 minute flight to New Haven.

Passengers line up at the departure gate to board the Avelo Airlines NG 737 bound for New Haven, Connecticut, the first commercial passenger flight out of Lakeland Linder International Airport in more than 10 years.

Based in Houston, Texas, Avelo Airlines launched April 28, 2021, and has flown more than 4.7 million customers on over 37,000 flights. The airline serves 53 destinations in 24 states and Puerto Rico and in 2024 began 16 new routes and 11 new destinations – including Lakeland.

That was a good move for Maiden-Fountain, who found his waiting time to board occupied with questions from various news outlets covering the event.

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