Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
A Las Vegas-based low-cost carrier recently discontinued service from Norfolk International Airport, dropping five seasonal routes, including several to Florida locations. Allegiant Air flew its last flight out of the airport on Aug. 11, airport spokesperson Chris Jones confirmed Wednesday. As a result, Jones said, the airport is losing seasonal direct flights to Cincinnati, Boston and three Florida destinations — Orlando, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville. However, Jones said four of those routes — Orlando, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and Boston — still have direct Norfolk flights from other airlines. Only Cincinnati is losing all direct service. The news was first reported by WAVY-TV. Jones said Allegiant struggled to recover Norfolk business following the COVID-19 pandemic, and its business strategy is based on flying routes with no direct competition. He said after the pandemic other airlines to begin competing with Allegiant on its routes. “Allegiant doesn’t really want to be competing,” he said. “They want to go places where they can have little competition.” Jones said the airline leaving was by no means “a death knell sign” for the airport. He touted the airport’s recent accomplishments, such as attracting JetBlue in January and having a record-setting number of passengers fly through the airport in September. The remaining eight airlines at the airport are American Airlines, Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines. A spokesperson for Allegiant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The airline joined Norfolk in 2017, originally offering Florida flights to St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
