Mission Details

• DEPARTURE: Southwest Airlines #3596 departs at 5:50am on Saturday, October 24, 2026 from Rochester International Airport
• WELCOME HOME: Sunday, October 25, 2026
• AIRPORT CELEBRATION: Between 12:00 to 3:00 PM, after the veterans have disembarked from the plane.
• FLIGHT INFO: Arrival, 11:40 AM Sunday, October 25 on Southwest Flight #1142 at International Rochester Airport

Welcome Home Lineup

• EMCEE Scott Hetsko, Evening Meteorologist, 13 WHAM
• KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Todd Baxter, Monroe County Sheriff
• ANTHEM SINGER: Peter Michael Pirro
• BAND: Prime Time Brass
• COLOR GUARD: West Webster Fire Department

October 19, 2026                                                         

Media Contact: [email protected]  

Honor Flight Rochester (HFR) is pleased to announce that Mission 99, our final mission of the 2026 season, will fly this weekend, October 24^th-25^th out of the Frederick Douglass Airport.

With the glorious weather and the leaves at their peak, and the approach of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, let us give pause and thank our veterans for all that they have done. For our veterans and all of us at Honor Flight Rochester, every day is Veterans Day. Join us on Sunday, October 25^th at the final Welcome Home Ceremony to help say thank you and welcome home. And if you know a veteran who has not flown on Honor Flight, sign them up to fly. 2027 will be here before you know it and the 2027 flying season along with Mission 100.

Mission 99 includes 59 veterans as follows: 2 Korean War veterans, 1 Cold War veteran, 1 Cold War/Vietnam veteran, 9 Vietnam veterans and 46 post 1975 era veterans. It includes 17 Air Force veterans, 22 Army veterans, 4 Marine Corp veterans and 16 Navy veterans.

Since 2008, including Mission 99, Honor Flight Rochester will have flown 5,136 Veterans. These are funded entirely through the generosity of our community, including individuals, organizations, corporations, and hundreds of volunteers and testamentary bequests.