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PROVO — The Provo Airport reopened Wednesday afternoon after a fatal crash shut down air traffic Monday morning.
The Provo City Facebook page said after 5 p.m. on Wednesday that the airport had been opened and flight operations had resumed.
Commercial flights from Allegiant and Breeze resumed Thursday morning in Provo.
Top Nu Skin distributor Nathan Ricks was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed shortly after taking off from the airport en route to the Rose Bowl game. Three other passengers were injured, one of them critically.
The crash impacted two runways of the airport.
Over the last three days, 29 flights were canceled at the airport for the investigation and cleanup. The cancellations led to frustrations and extra costs for travelers.
"Kids are about to start school, work, I have to get back to the Bay Area," said Franklin Herbas, who bought tickets to fly back to California from Salt Lake City after his flight from Provo was canceled.
"It definitely threw a wrench in our plans and had to coordinate with people who had our kids and dog sitters," said McKenzie Deakins whose return flight from Houston was canceled. "The cost of staying another couple of days wasn't great."
Deakins said the last-minute ticket to fly into Salt Lake City was about three times as much as she originally paid.
"Definitely not in the budget, wasn't planning on it. Not fun," she said.
Thursday is shaping up to be a busy day to make up for the canceled flights.
"They're adding several extra flights," said airport director Brian Torgerson. "They're bringing in planes empty just to get folks out. I've heard the number as many as five aircraft, bringing them in first thing in the morning to get those crowds of people back home."
In a statement Wednesday, Provo Airport Director Brian Torgersen said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have completed their evaluation of the crash site and have allowed cleanup to begin.
Contributing: Ladd Egan, KSL-TV
