After 7 years, Marathon airport sees commercial flights The first commercial flight into Marathon airport arrived Thursday, signaling the restart of service that stopped seven years ago. BY CAMMY CLARK cclark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MARATHON - Seth Gray said he felt like rock star Mick Jagger as he waved to the large, boisterous crowd Thursday afternoon while getting off Delta Connection Flight 4719 from Atlanta. Seth, 13, was one of the 40 passengers on the first commercial flight to arrive at Florida Keys Marathon Airport in nearly seven years. ''I didn't know we were heroes,'' said businessman Steve Dutson, who was also on the two-hour flight. It wasn't difficult to see how important the long-awaited service was to the community in the Middle Keys, a 2 ½-hour drive from Miami and an hour from Key West. WELCOMING The flight was met by state, county, community and business leaders who had been working for four years to bring back air service that disappeared when American Eagle taxied its last flight out of the tiny terminal on April 1, 2000. The fire department started the celebration by hosing the plane. When the door opened, the first to walk off was an aide to South Florida U.S. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who played a crucial role in getting approval from the federal Transportation Security Administration for necessary security screeners. Next was vacationer Mark Gray and his family from Louisville, Ky. He said he had no idea it was the first flight back to Marathon when he purchased the tickets. ''Someone told me that they had heard they were flying to Marathon now, and I just got online and booked it,'' he said. The passengers, including state Rep. Ron Saunders, were also greeted by a huge party hosted by the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds packed the terminal, where a steel drummer played Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Passengers were given a community goodie bag and greeted by a woman in a conch shell. A local resort provided hors d'oeuvres. FAR FROM DONE When the fanfare ends, Peter Horton, director of both the Marathon and Key West airports, said his work is far from done. Only Delta Connection, which will operate only 16 flights a week -- all to and from Atlanta on 40-passenger regional jets -- will be using the airport. Flights will arrive daily at 12:35 p.m. and depart daily at 1 p.m. There also is an additional Friday night arrival at 9:30 p.m. and Saturday morning departure at 9 a.m. 'I can't go `whew' at all,'' Horton said. ``The community is going to look for more service, and I can't rest until we have three airlines coming into this airport.'' Gulfstream International Airlines said it wants to start service to Marathon this fall. Horton said he also received a request from Delta Airlines to bring 70-passenger airlines to the airport. To do so, Horton said the airport will need to upgrade airport security. _________________________________________________________________ Find what you need at prices you?ll love. Compare products and save at MSN® Shopping. http://shopping.msn.com/default/shp/?ptnrid=37,ptnrdata=24102&tcode=T001MSN20A0701