Home Care In Destin, FL

In its latest schedule extension released Thursday morning, Southwest announced seasonal nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Destin-Fort Walton Beach International Airport (VPS) beginning June 6, 2026. The flights to Florida will operate on Saturdays through August 2026.

Elsewhere to Florida, Southwest will expand its Pittsburgh-Orlando route from four flights daily to six starting next summer, the most it has ever offered to the market.

Additionally, Southwest will expand its seasonal nonstop service to San Diego from once a week to four times a week when it resumes in June 2026, with nonstop flights operating on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays through August 2026.

New service to Destin-Fort Walton Beach and expanded flights to Orlando and San Diego are now for sale and can be booked at Southwest.com.

“We’re excited to see Southwest continue growing in Pittsburgh and building on two decades of success in our region,” said Joe Rotterdam, PIT’s Director of Air Service Development. “The addition of service to Destin-Fort Walton Beach and expanded flights to Orlando and San Diego shows Pittsburgh’s strong support for Southwest, and these routes enhance connectivity to in-demand destinations in Florida and on the West Coast that are key markets for our region.”

The added service at PIT is part of Southwest’s summer 2026 schedule, which opens new routes or expands capacity in key cities and increases intra-California service. In addition, Southwest will begin serving Alaska for the first time by connecting to Anchorage from its Denver and Las Vegas bases.

“In designing our summer 2026 schedule, we examined industry trends and identified locations – like Las Vegas, Orlando and San Diego – where we are able to provide customers more choices when they’re booking travel,” Adam Decaire, Southwest’s Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Network Operations Control, said in a statement. “Additionally, we’re boosting service in locations where we’ve always had a strong presence to offer customers even more service than ever before in those cities.”

Southwest becomes the second airline to offer nonstop flights between Pittsburgh and Destin-Fort Walton Beach, joining Allegiant Air, which operates the route seasonally twice-a-week from April through October.

Destin-Fort Walton Beach becomes Southwest’s seventh destination in Florida served nonstop from Pittsburgh, joining Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota and Tampa. It also becomes Southwest’s 21st destination at PIT, the largest network of any airline at the airport.

Southwest’s expansion further adds growth by airlines flying between Pittsburgh and Florida, which includes JetBlue resuming daily, year-round flights to Fort Lauderdale beginning Nov. 2 and Delta Air Lines adding seasonal, nonstops to Orlando on Dec. 20 that will operate through April 2026.

This also will be the most nonstop flights Southwest has offered between Pittsburgh and San Diego since launching Saturday-only service in June 2024. Southwest’s expanded schedule, coupled with Breeze Airways’ existing twice-weekly nonstops on the route, adds flexibility for travelers flying to the California city.

It also adds capacity from Pittsburgh to the West Coast – a significant focus area PIT has sought to grow – which already has seen American Airlines and Breeze expand service to Los Angeles, and Delta resume daily flights to Salt Lake City, in the past year.

Southwest’s summer expansion comes after the airline celebrated 20 years of service at PIT in May highlighted by the carrier’s steady growth to become Pittsburgh’s largest airline. It is also Southwest’s latest investment in Pittsburgh since expanding its partnership with Icelandair to PIT that will add connections between the U.S. and Europe.

DESTIN, Fla. -- Some scientists WEAR News spoke with Friday say blue-green algae can be harmful for people and pets.

Blue green algae bacteria is common in Florida's freshwater environments because it thrives on warm temperatures and sunlight.

That algae has popped up in a lake in Destin. The Florida Department of Health is advising people to stay out of the water. Blue-green algae can be toxic.

Signs like the one above have been popping up around Kell-Air Lake in Destin. It's a health alert, warning folks about blue-green algae in these waters.

The Florida Department of Health says this week testing is underway after it discovered the presence of blue-green algae in Spring Lake-North End in Destin.

The department is advising visitors and residents not to drink it or swim in it.

"There are a variety of species of blue-green algae or cyanobacteria, as we call them," said Dr. Allison Robertson, associate professor at University of South Alabama and senior marine scientist at Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

Robertson says blue-green algae can bloom in fresh water, brackish water, or even marine waters. She says many of the species have the potential to produce natural toxins.

"That's where it becomes a concern, if they're blooming," said Robertson.

Environmental scientist Sava Varazo says the algae is naturally grown material and it's sometimes used in products, like make-up and skincare. But if it's toxic, it can cause a variety of problems for your health.

"It can become a health issue, especially if you've got an immune system that's compromised a little bit," Varazo said. "And it can cause vomiting. It can cause nose irritation, eye irritation, earache irritation and you're surely doing not want to ingest it."

"Some of the toxins can cause dermal problems, so issues with the skin," Robertson said. "So that can cause irritation or rashes."

It can also become toxic to pets and fish.

"I've known of cases where dogs have gone in the water in freshwater ponds and drank it and came out very lethargic, very dizzy," Varazo said. "Look like they're about to die. And in some cases they did die."

"It's probably best for folks to just focus on catch and release, if you're going to go fishing in the next few days," Robertson said.

The algae thrives in warm temperatures, sunlight, and nutrients in the water. Brady McCann lives near the lake.

"I mean, of course, it's surrounded by houses," McCann said. "People fertilize their yard, so it makes that algae bloom."

He says he won't swim in the lake, but he may keep using his paddle board.

"Granted, I like to wash that lake water off me kind of soon," McCann said.

The department of health is also advising against eating shellfish in waters with algae blooms and keeping your pets away from the area to avoid contact with the water. And if you do come in contact with it, wash your skin and clothing with soap and water.

For additional information on the health effects of algae blooms, you can visit the Florida Department of Health's harmful algae bloom webpage.