Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport Losing Allegiant Flights

March 23, 2023
According to airport officials, Allegiant cited various economic factors such as rising fuel prices and crew and aircraft availability for no longer being able to provide service to Owensboro.

Mar. 23—Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport will be losing Allegiant Air at the end of May.

Tristan Durbin, airport director, said he was made aware of the airline's decision late last week.

After 14 years of providing service, Allegiant will end its twice-weekly flights to Orlando, Florida, on May 29.

In more recent years, Allegiant has taken an annual hiatus and has revised its flight schedule.

Doug Hoyt, chairman of the airport board, said there's no contract in place that dictates a specific service date for Allegiant, which is considered a low-cost carrier.

"It's all tied to can they survive? Can they make money? It's their decision," Hoyt said. "So unfortunately, this industry doesn't work in a contractual way like many other industries."

According to airport officials, Allegiant cited various economic factors such as rising fuel prices and crew and aircraft availability for no longer being able to provide service to Owensboro.

The airport is currently awaiting official notice from the U.S. Department of Transportation about whether or not it will approve Contour Airlines as its essential air service (EAS). Airport officials are expecting to hear an answer by the summer.

If approved by the DOT, Contour, which will provide flights to Charlotte, North Carolina, will replace current EAS provider Cape Air. It offered daily flights to St. Louis and Nashville.

However, Cape Air had given notice last year that it was withdrawing as a provider with EAS to multiple stations, including Owensboro. It cited inflation demands as the cause. Cape Air did rebid to return as the EAS carrier but with fewer flight options.

By having the air carriers, the airport receives $1 million a year in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration based on having 10,000 enplanements annually.

Enplanements are the boarding of an aircraft by a revenue passenger, including an original, stopover or transfer boarding of the aircraft.

Durbin said the enplanement funds go toward airport infrastructure projects and that losing Allegiant shouldn't drop the enplanements below the federal requirement. That will be aided by Contour's ability to carry 30 passengers on its jets as opposed to Cape Air's nine-passenger planes.

"If Contour is selected by the DOT, we still feel like we can achieve the 10,000 enplanements number," Durbin said.

Airport officials do plan to seek out a replacement carrier for Allegiant.

"We're going to continue to stay aggressive in trying to pursue and recruit other airlines," Durbin said. "...We would welcome as many air carriers as possible. However, two has been the number we've been at, but that doesn't mean we haven't gone out and tried to pursue more air carriers or more destinations."

According to airport officials, any passenger who has purchased travel beyond May 29 will receive a full refund from Allegiant Air.

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