The good news for St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is that 2015 was a record-breaking year for passenger traffic. Indeed, there is a viable niche within the same market as world-class Tampa International Airport.
The bad news: Almost all of those flights were accounted for by Allegiant Air. Of late, Allegiant has become almost synonymous with emergency landings. Blaming the pilots’ union for scaring up unfounded concerns about safety is not the same as reassurance.