American Airlines to start daily Destin‑Fort Walton Beach–Miami flights; adds year‑round Chicago service

American Airlines announced at a press event at Destin‑Fort Walton Beach Airport that it will begin daily nonstop service between Destin‑Fort Walton Beach Airport (DPS) and Miami International Airport (MIA), and that American will add year‑round service to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

A staff member at the event said, “we finally finally secured interstate service direct to Miami,” and added, “in addition to American's announcement of new daily direct service to Miami International Airport, American also today is announcing direct service to Chicago O'Hare International year round.”

The announcement, made with county leadership present, was framed as an economic opportunity for Okaloosa County. “Direct flights to Miami will greatly benefit business travelers from Okaloosa County needing to connect with companies or events in South Florida further,” the same staff member said, adding that Miami serves as “the premier gateway between The United States and The Caribbean and Latin America.”

An additional staff member, describing the airport’s relationship with the carrier, said, “American Airlines, our partnership has been, like, over 2 decades long,” and attributed the new route decisions to sustained market growth. Airport speakers said passenger traffic in the region has increased roughly 160% over the past six years and that the airport handled more than 2,400,000 passengers last year; they said that figure is about double passenger volumes from four to five years earlier.

A third staff speaker said the new service is part of broader growth across Panhandle airports and suggested the county may pursue further intrastate connections: “I would like to see some other intrastate flight locations and I think those are to come.” That speaker also commented on local travel patterns, saying, “You can drive to Miami, you can drive to Dallas, Texas faster than you can drive to Miami,” and added, “I think it's very exciting. People will definitely use it and American sees that and they're going to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Commissioner Paul Mixon, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, was thanked for attending by the event host. The host also named Jennifer Adams from the Tourist Development Department and Nick Tomachek, the county public information officer, as staff who would take questions after the announcement.

No county action, vote, or start date for the flights was announced at the event; the announcement reported here is a service launch by the airline and an airport/county promotional event. Officials described the change as a new route offering and an economic link for businesses and visitors, and they said airport facilities have been expanded to handle increased passenger demand.

Officials said they would answer questions following the announcement but did not provide a timetable, ticketing details, or the exact start date for the new routes during the remarks quoted here.