Howard “Rusty” Frizzell poses in his driveway on Forest Hill Avenue, Saranac Lake, in 2019, with a New York State Police car that escorted him to Plattsburgh so he could depart with an Honor Flight to see war memorials in Washington, D.C. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

PLATTSBURGH — After nearly two years of staying on the ground, North Country Honor Flight will take to the skies again this weekend.

“It’s been a long time and we have a lot veterans who have been waiting to go so we are very anxious and excited to get this back off the ground,” North Country Honor Flight Executive Director Barrie Finnegan said.

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Saturday flights

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Flights will resume on Saturday with two aircraft with 14 veterans and their guardians on each, taking off from Plattsburgh International Airport around 9:30 a.m.

The event will kickoff with the traditional departure ceremony at Veterans Park on the U.S. Oval at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base property in the City of Plattsburgh at 7 p.m.

“We are still going to do everything we can the same way at the park, and we will make the bios for each veteran as quick and efficient as we can, but we want to give every veteran their due,” Finnegan said.

North Country Honor Flight was established in 2013 and since then, has taken 465 veterans on 31 flights. Each flight takes veterans from World War II, Korea, Viet Nam and the Cold War to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials erected in their honor.

The flights leave Plattsburgh in the morning, after a departure ceremony attended by hundreds, and return to PBG in the evening to more adoring crowds.

There are usually four flights per year, which take place in the spring and late summer, but last year all flights had to be canceled due to COVID-19.

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Waiting list grows

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The loss of flights last year caused the waiting list of veterans to grow significantly, Finnegan said.

With many veterans aging and some ill, Finnegan said the priority was to get those veterans on the first flights they could.

The two flights leaving Saturday will include several Viet Nam veterans as well as some Korean War veterans.

“We’ve got some vets that are in their 80s and even 90s and we wanted to take care of them as soon as we could,” Finnegan said.

Two more flights will be launched on Sept. 18 to round out the year.

Finnegan said there will be about 65 vets still on the waiting list after the September flights.

“We still have quite a bit on the waiting list, but hopefully next year we can clean it up a lot,” Finnegan said.

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Private flights

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In a change from previous years, veterans will board the aircraft Saturday at the airport’s Fixed Base Operator hangar instead of the main terminal.

Honor Flight booked two aircraft from private firm Freight Runners Express to ferry the veterans to Washington and back. Normally Honor Flight uses aircraft from United’s Skywest, which flies out of PBG, but they could not accommodate the schedule this year.

Finnegan said they will stay in contact with Skywest, which has amply provided flights in the past, to see if arrangements can work out for next year.

“These private flights are little more expensive, but they should suit our purpose,” Finnegan said.

Each flight will cost about $20,000.

“We are doing OK financially,” Finnegan said.

“There has still been a lot of interest and donations kept coming in even when we were not flying all of last year so that’s been great.”

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COVID protocols

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Finnegan said all COVID-19 protocols, including masks, will be adhered to on the flights, and everyone flying has been vaccinated.

A medical attendant will also be on board.

At the departure ceremony, masks will not be required, but Finnegan urges attendees to exercise caution.

“Hopefully common sense and courtesy will go a long way.”